Cissnei's Path
by CRed1988
Summary: Cissnei wanted to save Zack that night, only to find that it was too late. Though she couldn't bring him back to life, she could keep his legacy alive. That was why she refused to abandon Cloud on his journey, despite going against her former friends and colleagues.
1. Chapter 1

"You had to of known there would be an investigation into how the escaping targets got their hands on your bike," Tseng said as he shook his head, rubbing the bridge between his eyes. "The fact that you failed to report your bike was taken when you said that you lost the target in the first place makes it seem like you helped them escape, Cissnei."

Agent Cissnei sat in silence beneath the slowly turning ceiling fan and fluorescent light of the interrogation room, nestled deep within the Shinra Company's main building in Midgar. She was clad in the standard Turk uniform, a suit that was pressed and neat. Sitting ramrod-straight in the chair, she kept her brown-eyes on her hands rather than risk meeting Tseng's.

Tseng continued, pointing to the report on the table between them. "And now that they've found it abandoned en route to Midgar, Heidegger will be looking into the matter personally soon enough."

He was right, of course. Cissnei had given Zack her bike so that he could get away after seeing what had happened to the other target—the person who had escaped with him, Cloud. It was only a matter of time before it was found.

"You were also a member of Zack's fan-club, the one known as Black Suit," Tseng added. When her head snapped up in response, he frowned. "You didn't pick a better cover, and it didn't help that you were constantly visiting his parents while he was missing. Presented with these facts as evidence, you understand that Heidegger will see you as a traitor to the company."

"I… expected as much, sir," she said softly.

"Then you understand my options are—" Tseng was cut off when the door to the room abruptly opened. His eyes snapped up to see that there was a tall man, dressed in the standard black suit with the addition of black shades. "What is it, Rude?"

"A message was just sent out," he said. "The fugitives are en route to Midgar now."

Reno popped his head in through the door as well. "The chain of command is determining what level of force to meet them with, but I wouldn't bet on it being anything trivial since one's a First-Class SOLDIER."

" _Why?_ " Cissnei whispered beneath her breath as Tseng followed the pair out the door. Why did he come back knowing the company was still coming after him? As strong as Zack was, even he couldn't take out that many armed soldiers. And the other person he was with had been comatose when she last saw him.

 _They don't deserve to die_ , she thought. Shinra raised her to be a Turk—to be loyal to the company and to act within its interests. She had always believed that, for all the questionable things they had done, the people were better off for it with the developments the company brought about.

But after seeing how Zack's parents grieved for their missing son, and how the experiments had left that infantryman comatose and robbed Zack of years of his life, she couldn't help but have doubts. Even if it caused problems later on, she _wanted_ to save him. Somehow, someway, she just _had_ to.

Cissnei made up her mind and left the room behind, heading to the helipads. If she caught one of the helicopters there, she would be able to start a search for the pair. One of the helicopters was already being started up by the time she arrived, and Tseng had chased her up the stairs onto the helipad.

"Cissnei!" he shouted. "The army's mobilizing. Find the targets before they do."

 _Find and eliminate_ , she interpreted. It made sense given Tseng was true Turk through and through. She turned to face him, a mask of compliance on her face. "Understood. The army won't be as subtle."

"I want them alive, you hear me?" Tseng added, once she no longer faced him. "You're going to save Zack's life."

Surprise dawned on her face, before she turned to face him. Cissnei brushed her hair behind her ear. "Of course. I haven't even told him my real name."

"Help them, Cissnei." Tseng said softly as she turned for the helicopter again. "I have letters for Zack. 88 of them."

She waved without looking at him, smiling while her back was to him. She was confident that if they acted fast enough, they could reach them in time.

 **[-oOo-]**

Dark clouds lazily drifted above in the wasteland, broken rays of light touching down from above in patches. Corpses lay strewn across the muddy battlefield by the time that Cissnei had arrived, her helicopter coming to a stop across from the one Reno and Rude had taken. They had sent her a notice that they had found the targets, and now the pair stood in front of one corpse amidst the sea of blood and mud, separate from the rest and covered by a cloth.

Cissnei stepped off the helicopter and slowly approached them. Their expressions told her everything she needed to know, but she didn't want to believe it. Not until she saw it with her own eyes.

She crouched down and slowly peeled the cloth away. It was harder to do than she expected. It was almost as though the sheet was made out of metal, but that was simply her trembling fingers. Cissnei steadied them and forced the cloth down, confirming that it was indeed Zack's body.

A streak of dried blood covered one eye and trailed down to his chin. Looking at the wounds on his body and the holes found through the shirt and pants, additional bullets were fired into him after he'd fallen. It must have been painful… yet, despite all of that, he looked peaceful with a smile on his face.

"He went down fighting," Reno said as Cissnei fell to her knees and reached down touch his hand. "Judging by all the bodies, he took on a hell of a lot of guys before being put down. That's a First-Class SOLDIER for you."

Cissnei's eyes were covered by her curtain of red hair as tears trickled down onto the dried blood. Her hands trembled and her throat strained to hold back her cry. She wanted to save him, yet everything that she had done to help him get away only led him to his death here.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and then heard Rude speak. His glasses hid his eyes, but the somberness in his tone expressed his own emotions. "The other one is still alive."

"He is?" Cissnei turned her head to look up at him. Her normally brown eyes were reddened by the tears she had shed, glistening trails running down her cheeks. "Where is he?"

"I found him passed out not too far from here, with the sword in his hands," Rude said. "He looked unharmed, so I put him in the back of the chopper."

"Okay…." Cissnei wiped away her tears. "At… at least we can still do something here to save him. We should tell Tseng."

"I'll call it in," Reno said, fishing through his pockets for his phone. "Clean yourself up."

Cissnei nodded and gave Zack a parting glance. _Goodbye Zack. I'll look after your parents like you asked, though I don't know how I'm going to tell them about this… and I'll look after your friend too._

She re-covered Zack's body with the cloth and stood up. Out of habit, she brushed her knees, but it only served to smear the mud around rather than clean it. There was nothing to be done about it, so she remained quiet as Reno talked on the phone with Tseng.

"…Understood," Reno said before hanging up the phone. He turned to Cissnei's helicopter and twirled his finger in the air before pointing to the direction of Midgard. It was a signal for it to head back. As the blades came to life, his red hair billowed in the wind while he faced Cissnei and Rude.

"He wants us to meet him at point 627 in two hours," he said loud enough to be heard over the distancing helicopter. "We're taking the body and the secondary target with us."

"…Understood," Cissnei said after a notable pause.

 **[-oOo-]**

Point 627 was just outside the Junon Port.

Junon itself was a major installation to the Shinra Company. It acted as a secondary headquarters for the company, and served as the central office for the Vice President. It was also a major port as well, acting as a transportation hub for various reasons.

Cissnei waited in the back of the helicopter, sitting across from Cloud. He was currently as unconscious as she had seen him with Zack the last time he was alive. Zack's body was also there, stored further away within a body-bag.

Rude had been the one who placed Zack within it, and then inside of the helicopter as well. Cissnei assumed he had done it to spare her from doing so. Both he and Reno probably thought she was as fragile as glass and would break if they weren't careful. She hated to admit it, but that was the truth of the matter.

It was unbefitting of a Turk in all honesty. They were supposed to be agents of Shinra above all else, yet she was willing to defy them following her heart for what she believed was right. She had been raised with the knowledge of what she would have to do, and was warned not to get attached to any of the targets, yet here she was pining over the dead after doing so anyway.

"I wonder what they'll do to us," she said to the unconscious former infantryman. She'd helped Zack escape and lied to her superior to cover it up. Agents had been terminated for less and, given that the army was sent to execute Zack, they would probably do the same to Cloud if they got wind of his survival.

Two loud taps against the exterior of the helicopter grabbed her attention and denied her the chance to think on it further. Tseng had arrived. Cissnei closed her eyes and took a moment to prepare herself for whatever would happen next. Then she rose to her feet and exited the helicopter.

Tseng waited outside in front of a motorcycle with a sidecar attachment to it, a traveling bag inside of the sidecar. His face was an impassive mask as it always was, and his arms were crossed as he talked to Reno in a voice that was too low to hear. When he saw her out of the corner of his eyes, he turned to face her and gestured for Reno to move.

The red-haired Turk stuck his hands into his pocket and passed her on the ramp, heading inside. He muttered something about doing all the hard work, but Cissnei couldn't afford to give it further thought once she came to a stop directly in front of Tseng and stood at attention. "Sir?"

"You've failed in your mission," he said with his voice at an even temper. Unlike the others, he was the hardest to read by body language or speech. She couldn't pick up anything that would give away his thoughts.

Nevertheless, she couldn't deny he was right. "Yes sir. We arrived too late to save Za—one of the targets. The other, however, we managed to retrieve successfully and are awaiting further orders."

He extended his gloved hand, palm first. "Hand over your identification card."

Cissnei's mind blanked for a moment at the request. "Sir?"

"You heard me," he said. "Your card."

With great hesitation, she nodded and reached for the card she kept tucked safely within the inner-pocket of her jacket. Her brown-eyes rested on it in nostalgia for a moment, recalling the day she had received it. She had been the youngest to make the ranks of the Turks.

When she handed it over, Tseng snapped it in two without hesitation. The sound rang out like a death knell amidst the grass and trees. "As of this moment, the agent carrying the codename Cissnei no longer exists."

Her eyes snapped back from the two separate pieces of her identification card to him. "What do you mean?"

"I believe I told you that Heidegger would start an investigation and we're already near-fugitives ourselves," he said, folding his arms behind his back. "In addition, you have proven time and again to undermine our mission as members of the Shinra Corporation. Therefore, as of two hours ago, the agent formerly known as Cissnei was terminated and cremated, as per regulation when an agent is disposed of."

"He's basically giving you a clean way out," Reno chimed in with some strain. He was carrying Cloud in his arms. He came to a stop as he walked past her and gave her a glance that carried a notable sharpness to it. "The only way to leave the company and Turks reliably is in a body-bag. At least this way it's clean—I would have hated to have to take you out."

She knew he meant it. Reno had done some things on their missions that she hoped to never have to do. He would have done it, even if he didn't want to. She supposed that was a sharp contrast between them—had he been the one to run into Zack all those other times, they would have been captured a lot sooner on Tseng's orders.

"You've become a liability," Tseng said abruptly, nodding his head towards the motorcycle. The unconscious Cloud rested in the sidecar, with Reno stretching his back before heading back to the helicopter. "If I ordered you to kill him in order to redeem yourself, would you have been able to at this moment?"

Cissnei closed her eyes and gently shook her head to the side. What had Cloud done to warrant death on the orders of someone else? He had been held captive and experimented on by the company along with Zack for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. "…I couldn't, sir. I'm sorry…."

Tseng stepped forward and handed Cissnei the keys to the motorcycle. "Arrangements have been made for both of you to take the Cargo ship discreetly. I put whatever assets I could into the bag. Go to Costa Del Sol and disappear."

She looked down to the keys as Tseng walked past her towards the helicopter. Her fingers wrapped around them tightly. There was still one thing she had to ask. "What about Zack's body?"

"We'll take his body and dispose of it," Tseng said, never breaking his stride. "It would be for the best…."

"I see." It was better than it being placed in a lab or desecrated. After everything that happened, and how she failed to save him in time, it was the only mercy that could be given to him now. "Thank you, sir."

Reno set the Buster Sword into the sidecar and then brushed his hands together. As he passed her, he gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Take care of yourself."

"You too." Cissnei reached up and touched his hand, nodding her head. "Tell the others that I'm sorry, and goodbye."

With that, she remained rooted to the spot as the helicopter started up and billowed waves of dust as the blades spun. There were tears in her eyes as she watched it climb into the air and then fly off into the sunset, out of her view and life. After practically being raised to be a Turk, now that she was kicked out she had nothing left.

Cissnei held back the tears and, somehow, managed not to buckle under the weight of uncertainty looming over her. She knew she was sacrificing everything to go and helped them the moment she gave Zack the keys to her motorcycle. There was no doubt in her mind that Zack had fought to keep Cloud unharmed against that much of the army's forces, sacrificing everything as well to keep him alive.

He was gone now, but she could pick up where he left off and help Cloud get better.

"That's right," she said to herself, brushing her hair back behind her ears as she thought of what she would do next. "I suppose I'll need to tell Zack's parents about this, and find some place to settle down so that I can help him recover. And then there's finding work without any former identification since I'm supposed to be dead, and it has to be someplace away from the company so they don't stumble across him while he's in convalescence…."

She mounted the bike and started the engine. It sputtered to life beneath her as she continued listing off the things she had to do set a path to the future for her. She would miss her old life, and her old friends, but there was too much for her to do.

She couldn't be weighed down by the memories if she wanted to press ahead, at least not yet.

 **[-oOo-]**

Night had fallen by the time that Tseng made it to the crematorium. The smell of bones being turned to ash and the burning fat leaving greasy residue on his skin were both something he'd grown accustomed to. Nearly all Turks had to some point.

Their work involved assassinations more often than naught. And the easiest way to gain the compliance of someone who spoke out against the company was to kidnap their loved ones, kill them, and then destroy the body so that it could never be found again. Once they had gotten what they needed they disposed of that person as well.

In all cases, the bodies were brought here so that there was no evidence left behind. The same held true for when agents had fallen in duty and their bodies were retrieved. At present, the body of Zack Fair laid lifeless and pale on the steel slider leading into the cremation chamber.

Reno pressed a button on the control panel, activating the chamber and bringing the oven to life. He waited for it to reach the optimal temperature before addressing his superior. "It's fired up."

Tseng nodded and opened the case that contained all the letters that Aerith had written Zack since his disappearance—all eighty-eight of them. He took them all, bundled together with a rubber band, and laid them on top of the body. "Do it."

The red-haired Turk pressed another button and the steel slider slid into the oven and sealed the door shut. Through the window, Tseng watched as the letters burned along with the recipient in silence. Reno waited patiently against the wall, eyes closed as he drummed his fingers against his arm until his superior deigned to speak to him again.

It was a few more minutes before he did. "Reno, you are to take over monitoring the Ancient for the foreseeable future."

"Just monitoring?" he asked for confirmation.

Tseng nodded his head. "For now, yes. I'll be busy looking into a replacement for Cissnei. This time we someone who will be more dedicated to their position and the Turks. We can't have a repeat of this."


	2. Chapter 2

Cloud Strife felt his consciousness stirring in the darkness of his mind. As his sense of touch returned, he felt the softness of linen sheets caressing his skin and the comfort of a mattress contorting around his body. It was almost counter-productive, working to drive him back to the darkness rather than letting him breach the surface. All that kept him from falling back in was that he could heat a voice just past the darkness.

"…I wonder... today?" he heard the voice say as his sense of hearing gradually came back, asking a question that didn't completely reach his ears. He could make out that the voice sounded soft and feminine, and it was close by.

Cloud used it as an anchor point and pulled his fleeting mind out of the dark depths of unconsciousness, opening his eyes to seek it out. He was met with the white-hot glare of the sun coming in through the window. The rays were like knives that stabbed at his eyes and elicited a pained grunt as he shut his eyelids reflexively and turned his head.

The sole benefit was that the pain brought a greater sense of awareness to his mind. It let him take in his surroundings as he opened his eyes once again. He was on a bed in what looked to be an unfamiliar and small house, a fire burning in its hearth nearby.

"You're awake now?" said the voice that tethered him to the waking world.

His eyes fell on the source, a woman with wavy, red-hair. She was sitting on a bed opposite his, dressed in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt with sandals on her feet. He didn't recognize her…but then again, his mind was still cloudy and his head thrummed with every beat of his heart.

"Where am I?" he asked her.

"We're in Gongaga." She rose to her feet and approached him slowly. "You've been here before. Do you remember that?"

"I—" Pain flared.

 _Cloud, this is my home town! This is Gongaga!_

"I think—" Pain flared again.

 _Wait here a minute. I'm just worried about my parents._

"…I can't remember," he said in the end, bringing a hand up to his forehead as something came to his mind and then slipped out again, like water through his fingers. "It's too unclear."

"That's fine for now," she said, now by his side and crouched down. Her brown eyes met his mako-colored pair. "Can you at least remember your name?"

"Cloud," he said. That much he was sure of. "Cloud Strife, SOLDIER, First-Class."

"That… that doesn't sound right," he heard her murmur, her face scrunched up in thought. She turned her head towards his Buster Sword and then asked, "Can you tell me what the last thing you remember was?"

"I was… going to Midgar for…for—" The pain returned.

 _You'll be my living legacy…_

"I—" It became unbearable.

 _My honor, my dreams, they're yours now._

Cloud screamed as, the more he thought about it, the greater the blinding pain assaulted him. It ripped away at his mind like a stake being driven it at multiple angles. He clutched his head in agony until the merciful chains of unconsciousness dragged him back within its depths and he blacked out.

 **[-oOo-]**

Cissnei—or rather Crimson, now that she was no longer an agent and forced to work under an alias—watched as Cloud's chest rose and fell while he drifted from unconsciousness into slumber.

Her shoulders dropped and she covered her eyes in thought. She had hoped Cloud would be well upon waking, but it seemed that the poisoning had damaged his memories. It was entirely possible that dragging the memories up before it was cured would damage his mind further in its fragile state, but she couldn't be sure.

It would be best if she could somehow cure him of the effects, but she didn't have any idea where to start. Shinra would be a good place to start, but she didn't have her previous level of clearance. And she couldn't contact the other Turks for a favor since she wasn't even supposed to be alive and they were probably still under investigation.

She pulled out her phone and searched through the contacts for anyone who wouldn't be connected to the Turks, but could look through things at Shinra for her. She came to a stop when she crossed Kunsel's name. He was a friend of Zack's who was a Second-Class SOLIDER and she had been in contact with him until recently, since both of them still believed that Zack was alive.

She hadn't told him otherwise and he was making plans to leave to pursue Zack last she checked. But, given the army's losses, the company would be hesitant to lose manpower right now. They would delay the request for leave for a long time. If she told him the truth about everything, Kunsel might be willing to help by staying behind a little while longer and looking into it.

Crimson stepped outside of the building, one of the abandoned houses of Gongaga. She had made her way there after getting off the Cargo Ship in order to tell Zack's parents that they had finally found his body. The pain on their faces when she broke the news nearly brought her to tears as well, and she couldn't help but wish that they had been just a little faster in finding Zack.

A breeze rolled through the derelict array of buildings, whistling a haunting melody as it billowed her hair. The village was quiet and isolated, littered with dozens of small homes that were boarded up and abandoned due to the Mako Reactor's destruction. A lot of people were killed, but a few of the survivors chose to stay behind despite the painful memories.

Leaning against the abandoned home she called her own for the time being, she made the call. "Kunsel?"

 _"Cissnei?"_ His surprise could be heard over the line. _"Word going around is that you were dead."_

"It's complicated, and my name is Crimson now," she told him. Part of her wondered exactly how he came across that information, but the fact that he was knowledgeable meant that he was just the right person to ask. "Listen, I have something to tell you about Zack. It'll be hard to hear, but you're the only one I can trust within Shinra…."

 **[-oOo-]**

Heidegger sat behind the steel desk in his office with a frown on his face as he read the reports of the Turks regarding the disposal of the corpse of the SOLDIER member who had wiped out a significant portion of his military force. The losses wouldn't be easy to replace, even if they were mere infantrymen. It would take time, and that time wasted meant the new incarnation of AVALANCE could continue being a thorn in his side.

He turned over to another folder, listing his own investigation into how Zack Fair managed to even get so close to Midgar in the first place. It was because of a former Turk, who was supposedly terminated by the department itself after her role in his escape. He immediately pegged it as a lie. Not because of proof, but because the Turks had proven untrustworthy in the past.

 _No more half-measures,_ Heidegger thought as he sent word for a unit. Three infantrymen headed by a Second-Class SOLDIER member to investigate everywhere feasible that the woman had been, including Zack Fair's parents. He had found that she had frequent visits there using the choppers over the past four years, so if she left anything behind that would be the place to start.

If they found anything, they'd report it and he'd have the location razed.

 **[-oOo-]**

Cloud woke again in the evening, finding himself alone in the small home this time. The headache from before was gone, and so was the red-haired woman that had been there with him. He rose from the bed and walked over to the Buster Sword.

He slid his fingers along the heavy blade and recalled the weapon as his own. He grabbed the hilt and brought it around in a few sweeps before attaching it to the magnetic holster on his back. Then he made his way out of the house, towards the amber sunlight coming down from the long path leading out of the small and near-abandoned village and into the jungle.

"Hey!"

He turned towards the voice coming from behind him and noticed the red-haired woman there. The memories came unbidden the longer he looked, with the two of them standing on a beach after someone's death… his master, Angeal. "Cissnei…"

She took a step back, confusion and somewhat shocked. "You know my name?"

"Of course," he said. "The beach in Costa Del Sol, we were there. You're a Turk."

"We've never…." She brought a hand to her mouth and her brows furrowed in thought. He managed to hear her whisper, _"Zack?"_

For a moment he thought to ask who that was. But the moment passed when what felt like an ice-pick stabbed his brain. He shook it off and kept walking onwards.

"Hey, wait!" She ran out in front of him and stood in his way. "You need to get back in the house. You're not well yet. The mako poisoning is still affecting you."

"I'm fine," he said. "I need to get to Midgar."

"Why would you go back there?"

He came to a stop. "You asked me what was the last thing I remembered. It was heading back to Midgar to get work as a mercenary and to see—" More pain unraveled.

 _Four years? What do you mean, final!?_

He shook his head and started walking again. "To see someone I haven't seen in four years…. I'll find them when I get there."

She stuck her hand out to block his path. This time he noticed she had a bangle on, Mythril from the looks of it. "First off, my name is Crimson, not Cissnei. I'm not a Turk anymore. Second, I saw you nearly blacked out again just now. You're in no condition to even be trying to make that trip, let alone find someone or be a mercenary."

"I'll be fine on my own," he said, nudging past her hand.

"I said I would look after you until you were better," she said defiantly. "If you want to leave, you'll have to go through me."

He didn't even turn back to look at her. "I've got no reason to fight you."

The jingle of keys caught his ears and drew his head toward her. She had pulled out a set of keys and was twirling them around on her forefinger. "You won't even make it to Costa Del Sol anytime soon if you try to leave on foot." She clasped the keys in her closed fist. "You don't even have a map to get there safely from here. I have both."

Cloud turned around and stuck his hand out, palm raised. "Give them here."

She put the keys into the pocket of her shorts and then pulled out her shuriken, Rekka, with the other hand. "If you want them then you'll have to take them."

"I'm an ex-member of SOLDIER," he said. "Do you really think that you'll be able to stand against me?"

She got into a combat stance and held her weapon at the ready. "Even if you believe that, if you can't beat me then there's no meaning to that title."

Cloud sighed as he grasped the hilt of his sword. Then he moved with speed belaying his appearance, dashing in and drawing the blade. He swung it so the backside would slam into her abdomen and floor her, proving that she had no chance against him.

It missed. Crimson dodged with a flip and came around with Rekka in hand, using it like a blade as the point tried to gouge out his eyes. When he avoided that by moving his head to the side, she swept his legs from under him and took three steps back while he crouched on the ground while using his blade for support.

"Don't get in my way," Cloud said, rising to his feet. He gripped the blade with both hands and pointed it at her. "You don't have a chance."

"Not from where I'm standing," she said, flinging the shuriken towards him.

Cloud knocked it away with his sword and then rushed in again, putting more strength and speed into his swings to overwhelm her fast and hard.

Crimson dodged them all, maneuvering around him and staggering him as he put too much momentum into a swing by pushing him with her foot. She raised her hand and caught her shuriken as it came back around. Perching it on her shoulder, she couldn't help but shake her head.

"That's twice I've brought you to your knees," she said pointedly. "Your movements are too sloppy and predictable."

A growl bubbled up in Cloud's throat as he rushed back in with a battle-cry born of damaged pride as a SOLDIER. He jumped into the air, the Buster Sword chambered behind his back as he fell for a massive attack that combined the momentum of the fall and gravity along with the weight of his blade.

Crimson outstretched her hand, revealing that the bangle had a materia in it. Lightning crackled from glowing sphere, instantly filling the air with the scent of ozone. Then it lashed out like a serpentine spear.

Cloud brought the blade down early to use as a shield before it caught him full-on in the chest. The blast still knocked the blade out of his hands, sending it twirling in the air until the tip bit into the ground and stood upright. Cloud himself was sent sprawling on the ground, left on his back as tongues of remaining electricity paralyzed him.

"You—" His voice cut off as Crimson mounted his chest and wedge the points of her shuriken into the ground, leaving his neck pinned between them and the sharpened round blade.

"What right do you have to be arrogant?" she demanded softly, subtle fury in her voice. "Is it just because you have that sword and strength? Did you it would be enough?"

He said nothing, merely curling his fingers into balled fists as the paralysis began to wear off.

She continued, pressing down on her weapon and driving it ever closer to his neck. "Even if you were a SOLDIER, you've been out of commission for over 4 years now. The fact that you can move at all is probably due to whatever was done to you in the first place, but you don't have the means to even beat me—let alone if Shinra comes after you."

Crimson stood up and removed her Rekka. "You can try to leave as much as you want, but I'll knock you down and bring you back as many times as I have to. I'm a very light sleeper as well, so you can't sneak out then either. Just accept I'm looking over you until you're well again, whether or not you want me to."

"Why?" he asked quietly as he sat up. It didn't make sense to him. "Why look after me?"

"That was the promise I made to him," she said softly. "I don't know you well enough to know if this is the real you or because of the poisoning, but I can't imagine Zack would have sacrificed himself for someone who behaves like this."

 _Boy oh boy. The price of freedom is steep._

Pain erupted from that name again. It made his head hurt, a stabbing pain like a nail being driven into his skull. "That's how… a SOLDIER is."

"You're wrong," she said, her voice soft now that all of the fight drained out of her. She crouched down and pressed her lips into a faint frown. "Zack was never like that."

 _Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honor… as SOLDIER!_

The pain followed her words were merciless in assaulting his mind. He brought his palm to his forehead. That name was the source of his pain. "Who is Zack? Who was he to me?"

She shook her head. "There's no point in telling you right now. From the looks of it, it hurts just hearing his name. I'm sure once you've been detoxed completely of the mako poisoning it will come back to you."

Cloud looked up to the sky as the headache faded. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, the headaches were hurting him and his body wasn't moving like he wanted it to. He remembered what happened in Nibelheim, where his partner Sephiroth betrayed him and destroyed his village, but if four years had passed then… what had he been doing since then?

Who was this person she spoke of so highly? Why did hearing his name bring Cloud so much pain?

He needed to know. "How long will this take?"

"I have someone inside Shinra working to find a lead to a procedure that could help," she said, extending a hand for him to take. "Once they get back to me, we'll see about fixing you up. I promise."

Cloud rose to his feet unaided and walked over to where his sword was. With an exaggerated flourish and twirl, he put it on his back. Then he walked towards the house they had been in prior. "I'll wait until then I guess… for now anyway…."

He heard Crimson let out a soft sigh as she followed him back inside.

 **[-oOo-]**

Kunsel, a second-class SOLDIER, looked out the window of the Shinra building. His gaze was cast out to the wastelands surrounding the city, towards where Crimson had told him Zack had died days ago. While Kunsel had known the army had suffered heavy causalities that day, he only now knew that it was Zack who was responsible, and he had went out fighting.

He turned his attention to the door behind him as it slid open and revealed that Luxiere was there, dressed for deployment with a standard sword on his back. "You going out?"

"Yeah," he said, "for an assignment from Heidegger to investigate some things. Probably be gone two weeks or so."

Kunsel's grip on his phone tightened. Though she had told him to keep it a secret, both he and Luxiere had been Zack's friends. He deserved to know the truth. "Listen, about Zack…"

"It doesn't matter anymore," Luxiere said as he grabbed a bag containing supplies. "He's been gone for years now."

"That's not true," Kunsel said. "I keep telling you, that was a cover-up."

"Saying things like that is the reason you haven't been promoted yet." Luxiere sighed. They'd had similar discussions before. "I get it. You're still in denial while I've moved on. There's been a void since the loss of him, Genesis, Angeal, and Sephiroth. I am aim to fill it. "

Kunsel knew that words wouldn't get through to him. Luxiere had been working to climb through the ranks and was probably closer now to getting to first-class. There was no telling what he would do with the information if he knew.

Instead, he wished him luck. "Good luck on your mission."

"See you when I get back," Luxiere said back, heading out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Cloud hefted his Buster Sword off his shoulder and took a fighting stance as he faced down Crimson for the sixth time. He hadn't tried to escape again since their fight last week had shown him that, despite being a member of SOLDIER, he was woefully weak. While he knew he was still far from his former idol Sephiroth, he hadn't thought that he could be so easily bested.

"Here I go!" he proclaimed as he used his speed and strength to rush in.

Crimson dodged as he brought the full might of his sword down upon her, escaping with a flip and tossing giant shuriken at him.

Cloud batted it upwards and moved in with a swift thrust, only for her jump forward and over the blade, springing off his shoulder and going into a roll. By the time he turned around and brought the heavy sword around in a horizontal swipe, she had caught her weapon and twirled over the incoming blade to deliver a spinning kick to his face. He stepped back and shook his head to clear it before brandishing his blade again.

 **[-oOo-]**

Luxiere and two of the three infantrymen who accompanied him stood on a ridge overlooking the reactor, watching the sparring session in secrecy through binoculars. The Second-Class SOLDIER found himself wondering just how lucky it had been that their target was in the first place they had checked. He wasn't mistaken since her visuals matched the file he received.

However, there was a complication. The person with her was a member of SOLDIER as well, judging from his eyes. He hadn't ever seen the man before, yet somehow he had the Buster Sword. That rankled Luxiere as he set down his binoculars and gripped the hilt of his own sword.

"How should we proceed, Sir?" asked one of the infantrymen.

Luxiere thought about it for a moment. Heidegger made it very clear that he expected a report on anything he found that would incriminate the Turks, who were obstinately under his command. In truth, they operated independently for the most part because of a certain level of trust between them and the company. He wouldn't be able to reproach them unless he had evidence he could present, and a report confirming her visually could easily be pronounced a forgery.

If they captured her, then he could confirm her identity without a doubt. Once they unraveled whatever secrets she had, Heidegger could use it to restructure the Turks to his liking. And, in gratitude, Luxiere would be promoted to First-Class.

"We should contact Heidegger after we've secured the target," Luxiere said. He turned to the infantryman carrying a sniper rifle with a mounted scope. "Put a round through her leg to cripple her, avoid the major artery so that she doesn't bleed out."

"What do we do about the person accompanying her?" asked the infantryman. "I don't think I can put him down in a single round if he is SOLDIER."

"I'll take care of him." Luxiere pulled his standard-issue sword off of the magnetic holster and flourished the blade. "He's strong, but he doesn't seem to have had any real training judging from his movements. Immobilize the target and I'll move in."

"Yes, Sir!" The infantryman lowered himself into a sniping position, setting the gun up and lining up the shot. He had her in his sights and his finger was on the trigger when she suddenly peered directly at him and then flung her weapon. He barely managed to pull back and avoid having his head sawed through by the shuriken as easily as it did the barrel of his gun.

"Don't let the target escape!" Luxiere ordered as he jumped down from his position in order to confront the pair.

 **[-oOo-]**

As her Rekka circled back and slapped against her palm, Crimson could only think that it was pure luck that she had her Sense materia activated when she did. Having it allowed one to sense attributes about their enemy and surroundings during battle. But hers was different since she had trained with the materia for years and accumulated enough experience with it to enter into a state of hyper-awareness.

Her mind could process information and images faster than the average person, allowing her to react quickly. She could also predict trajectories, such as those of her throws. That was why she could catch her Rekka even if it was deflected by moving to where it would go. Likewise, it was because she saw the gleam of the sword and calculated where it came from she saw the trio.

Her Long Range materia ensured that the throw made it, but the distance gave the sniper time to dodge it. The only silver-lining was that she managed to destroy their weapon and they were aware of Shinra being present. They could escape if they reached the motorcycle or made it to the jungle.

"We need to run," she said to Cloud.

Cloud shook his head and raised his Buster Sword up in front of him. His eyes were trained on the incoming SOLDIER running towards them at preternatural speeds. "A SOLDIER doesn't run…."

"You can't fight him!" Crimson said grasping his hand to try and pull him along the path.

He shook her hand off and ran towards the incoming SOLDIER.

Crimson decided against trying to stop him as they closed in on one another. Even if Cloud wasn't an actual SOLDIER, he seemed to have somehow inherited Zack's memories. His body couldn't keep up though since it wasn't as well-trained, and he was so reckless and headstrong that a skilled opponent would dance circles around him, but he still stood a better chance of lasting against him than she did.

So, Crimson decided to deal with the infantrymen coming after her instead.

 **[-oOo-]**

Still riled up from his fight with Crimson, Cloud's muscles were tensed and he felt himself in a state where he could push it to its limit in a single burst of strength. His frustration at being unable to even touch Crimson or moving as he could in his memories during his battle with Sephiroth became a source of strength. Bringing all that power to bear in a single act, he jumped up and swung down the sword as he fell towards the SOLDIER approaching. "BRAVER!

His opponent rolled out of the way before it crashed down and sent of a spray of dirt, moving in and bringing his own sword around. The point of the sleeker long-sword scraped against the flat of Cloud's blade as he brought it to his chest in defense. The SOLDIER then lashed out in a side-kick, knocking both the sword and Cloud back until they skidded along the ground.

"Why do you have that sword?" the SOLDIER demanded as he came in with an overhead strike and tried to cleave him in two. Cloud blocked with his blade, holding it up using his enhanced strength. "Who are you?"

"That's what… I should be asking you!" He pushed the lighter weapon away and then swung the larger blade around to drive him back. Then he rose to his feet and took his fighting stance again.

"My name is Luxiere!" he proclaimed. "SOLDIER, Second-Class! I don't know who you are, but I'll defeat you and I'll take back Zack's sword!"

That name brought pain to Cloud's mind once more, but adrenaline helped drown it out as his opponent rushed him.

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson ducked behind a piece of rubble that was once part of a building caught in the Make Reactor explosion as automatic weapons were fired from behind. The two infantrymen were chasing after her. She took deep breaths and then flung her Rekka from cover, making a wide arch from which it could strike them.

They moved out of the way before it could and then returned fire as it traced its path back towards her. The bullets knocked it into a downward spiral and sent it crashing into the ground, the point biting into the hard-packed earth. Pointing back to where she had taken cover, the pair trained their weapons onto the location and took slow steps in case she had any other weapons.

"Come out!" one of the infantrymen ordered. "We're taking you in for questioning."

There was no response, causing them to move closer. With a gesture they split on opposite sides in an attempt to flank her. They emerged from behind the cover and took aim… only to find themselves pointing their guns at one another.

"Where'd she—" The question was cut off as Crimson dropped down from the top of the debris and landed square on the infantryman's shoulders, wrapping her legs around his neck, and discharging the Thunder Materia she had swapped out for her Long Range materia in lieu of retrieving her Rekka. The bolt hit the other infantryman square in his chest and sent him to the ground, the electricity numbing his body where the bolt hadn't covered it in electric burns, while she twisted her thighs and snapped the neck of the unfortunate soldier she had mounted.

Crimson immediately grabbed the deceased infantryman's weapon and shot the paralyzed man until he was dead, and then tossed it aside. Exhaling deeply, she took a moment to center herself. Then she began combing the body of the man whose neck she snapped for anything useful.

She avoided looking at his dog-tags. It was easier to kill if she didn't see them as individuals who may have had families and friends. Let alone the fact that Cloud was an infantryman years ago and it could very well have been him who ended up being in this guy's place, or one of the dead infantrymen Zack killed trying to return to Midgar. The sound of static caught her ears and she removed his helmet to see the wireless radio tucked into his ear.

Crimson put it in her own ear and listened to the transmission.

 _"—respond,"_ crackled over the line. _"Protocol ER in is effect due to threat-level. All operatives return to point A-23 for extraction within 15 minutes."_

She managed to figure out the location from having memorized Gongaga during all her times visiting it prior. It wasn't far from their current location. Crimson grabbed her Rekka and went towards the extraction point.

It took five minutes of running before it came into view. Re-equipping her Long Range materia and using her Sense-induced state to project the trajectory, she flung the giant shuriken forward. It went through the windshield of the helicopter and planted itself into the remaining infantryman's stomach, piercing his body and the seat.

She closed in and threw open the door, grabbing him by the collar. "How long you live depends on what you tell me. Who sent you?"

"Heidegger sent us…to capture you," he wheezed. "Suspected… Tseng's reports…exaggerated."

Crimson felt her stomach drop. They were here because of her. "What's Protocol ER?"

He swallowed, taking a pained breath to speak. "Target's location… missile strike…."

In other words, they were going to burn down Zack's home because of her. His parents and everyone else still in there would die. All because Heidegger was after her, they were going to die and the village would be burned off the map. "Retract it! There are innocent people there!"

He shook his head weakly. "Missiles… launched already."

"Do you know what you've done!?" She pulled her Rekka out, brought it across his throat, and tossed the man out of the helicopter as he choked on his own blood before going still. It was ruthless of her, but she was pressed for time and this man had given everyone a death sentence based on how long they had to evacuate. Using the systems on the chopper, Crimson managed to find the path of the missiles and figured out the trajectory.

It brought little comfort as it revealed she had less than fifteen minutes before they hit. That wasn't nearly enough time to vacate everyone.

She ran.

 **[-oOo-]**

Luxiere couldn't help but feel his blood boil as he faced the thief who stole Zack's sword somehow. Everything about him was just wrong. His fighting style was a crude imitation of Zack's, lacking the grace and refinement of the man he had once idolized.

Zack always had a smile on his face even through the harshness of the world and training until that mission in Nibelheim. Now some imposter had his sword, a legacy passed down from master-to-student. There was no smile on his face, only a scowl that seemed out of place behind the blade.

Luxiere was his better in combat by a mile. His body was tempered and his motions swift as he parried the larger sword for the fifth time and managed to thrust his blade towards his opponent's head. It gazed his face as he moved it and left a trail of blood weeping on his cheek.

The blonde-haired thief constantly attacked in a way that was too straight-forward. His judgment was too sluggish for him to have really been trained. It was like he was trying to copy Zack without putting in the years of training to hone the muscle memory. In the end, Luxiere managed to open up several weeping red lines across his body, leaving him on a knee while a cut to his forehead left blood covering one of his eyes and rendered him blind in it.

"CLOUD!"

Both Luxiere and his opponent looked towards the voice. It was the target.

"They're going to raze Gongaga in a few minutes!" she said. "Everyone else has started evacuating the village! Get out of there!"

His opponent nodded and rose from his knee, taking up his fighting stance once more.

Luxiere moved in for the kill. He had to finish things and get out of the bombing range. As much as he hated the fact that Zack's village would be destroyed, there was nothing he could do once the protocol was in effect. He drew his sword back and charged in.

His opponent did the same, wagering his life on a single strike. In the end, what saved the thief was his weapon. The weaker blade couldn't stand the strain of the constant impacts, and snapped before the Buster Sword's weight as the two blades met.

Blood sprayed in an arch as the thicker sword opened up a deep gash in Luxerie's chest and he staggered back a step, placing a hand on the wound instinctively. It created an opening, and his opponent exploited it.

The blonde-haired imposter put all his strength into three strikes while yelling, "CROSS SLASH!"

And Luxiere only knew pain.

 **[-oOo-]**

That last attack took every last of strength Cloud had, taking his rage and channeling it into the Limit Break. If it hadn't taken his opponent out then he would have been left vulnerable. And, even then, the only reason it connected as it did was because his sword lasted longer.

He felt tired and troubled, but he had no time to dwell on it. He had to get out of the bombing range. Cloud hadn't even made it ten steps after re-attaching his sword to his back when he heard his still-breathing enemy coughing up blood. He turned to face him.

Luxrie was on his feet, blood drizzling from his wound as he clung to his broken sword's hilt.

"Stand down!" Cloud ordered, drawing his sword again.

"Embrace… your dreams." Luxiere wheezed as he lumbered forward in what must have been pure agony. He powered through it, putting the last of his strength into his legs to drive them forward and towards Cloud. "And whatever ha-happens…."

"I said stand down!" Cloud said. "There's no point in fighting anymore!"

Luxiere's dying gait turned into a charge as he announced the creed he had taken as his own. "Protect your SOLDIER honor!"

Cloud's head felt like it was split in two as those words triggered a memory—

 _A man with black hair was talking and then turning his back on Cloud, who reached out for him. He was carrying the Buster Sword with him as he headed towards an all-consuming light._

—and he screamed, falling forward onto his knees while tears ran free for reasons he couldn't grasp. It was only because Luxiere roared as he rushed Cloud that his reflexes kicked in and brought the Buster Sword up in time.

There was a wet sound as the voice was abruptly silenced, and blood slid down the length of the blade to pool on the ground beneath him.

 _"Sorry… Zack…"_ Strength abandoned Luxiere as he staggered backwards, pulling himself free of the sword. He fell onto his back and a haggard cry tore itself out his throat. With his last breath, he muttered the words, _"I couldn't… take back your sword… and become your legacy…."_

"Zack…." Cloud mumbled after the now dead SOLDIER. That name again. He couldn't help but be troubled as he wondered who exactly this Zack person was and what their relationship to one another was. Crimson watched over him because of Zack, and this SOLDIER fought him over the sword that he claimed Zack owned.

Cloud couldn't afford to think much longer on the subject once he spotted a trail of smoke in the air. The missiles were closing in. Leaving the dead man where he laid, Cloud ran to get out of range before first of the explosions went off.

The roar and hot gale of the first explosion managed to stagger him as it billowed from the entrance of the village towards the reactor. The second and third nearly swept him off his feet as the missiles grew closer to it. It was the last one that finally caught up, landing where he had faced the SOLDIER.

There was a blinding white light and pain overtook all of his senses, then everything abruptly went black….

 **[-oOo-]**

Cloud woke up to the sound of sobbing and something wet dripping on his face. He opened his eyes to find himself laying on the ground, with his head in Crimson's lap as she cried over him. On instinct, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"I… I wasn't sure you would wake up again," she said with her beautiful face was marred by sorrow as the tears continued to fall. "I pulled you out of the fire and used a Restore materia, but I wasn't sure."

"Fire?" Cloud forced his head up from her lap, a herculean task given how he ached even after healing. But he could see it now. Gongaga was burning, black smoke rising in the air and ashes fluttering down like snow. "What happened to the villagers?"

"Not everyone got out in time," she said solemnly. "I… I tried, but I just couldn't get to everyone in time. They were _his_ neighbors, and this place was _his_ village. And because of me they're all gone!"

Cloud forced himself off of her lap and sat in front of the sobbing woman, wondering what to do now. He had questions about Zack, but he couldn't stand seeing her like this. They could wait.

He moved to wipe away the tears, but came short. It was too intimate of a thing for him. Instead, he set his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

"It's not your fault," he said. "Shinra did this. You did what you could."

Crimson just shook her head and then buried it onto his shoulder. There, she cried as flames lapped at the village and one more piece of Zack's legacy….


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I would like to thank you for everyone who is interested in the story. Two reviews, received five favorites, and received twelve follows so far.**

 **Rated R: Thank you for the compliment of the story. And yes is it a bit peeved of Cissnei codename but its will be ok. New name are hard to think of, so Crimson the new Cissnei codename will do.**

 **BGShepard: Thank you for the comment. I hope you like the story.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

Crimson finished showering in the steam-filled bathroom of the room she and Cloud had rented. They were situated in an Inn on Midgar, having arrived from overseas by a small boat they managed to charter. After that, they bribed a merchant to take them from Junon into Midgar. Both of the rides were somber as Crimson dealt with the loss of Zack's home.

She helped the survivors get somewhere safe, but not everyone managed get out alive. And the loss of their homes meant that most of them lost everything they had. What the Mako Reactor explosion hadn't done, a missile strike inevitably did.

Once she had finished drying herself off, Crimson dressed in a blouse and pants before stepping out of the bathroom. Cloud was there, sitting at the window and staring up at the plate hanging above Sector 6. The Inn they had chosen was in the Wall Market, partly because of the price, but also because no one would be looking for them there.

He turned to look at her as she slipped on her socks and shoes, taking a moment to just observe her without much thought. "You're heading out?"

"I need to make contact with my inside source within Shinra," she explained. "He found some documents that may give us a clue to treating you."

"You're not heading to the building itself, are you?"

She tilted her head in curiosity at his interest. "Would you be worried about me if I did?"

The way she phrased it held some deeper meaning. It was the sort of thing that Zack would have made a playful jibe at, saying she'd come out fine. Cloud didn't rise to the provocation though.

He remained stoic, even as he said something that was completely outlandish. "Nah, it's just that I would have to storm the building to get you out…it's only fair since you pulled me out of the fire and healed me up."

She struggled not to chuckle. The idea that he would risk taking on all of army gathered there for her seemed completely foolish, but it still bought a smile to her face. That was something she appreciated considering the mood she had been in since they left what remained of Gongaga.

"Well, there shouldn't be any need for that. We're going to meet at a diner to discuss things in Sector 1, not too far from the Train Station. I won't be gone for more than a few hours, but do you want me to bring you something back?"

Cloud merely shook his head and then turned his attention out of the window. This time he looked down to the people walking below on the Wall Market, as if he was searching for someone. It reminded her of his reason for coming here in the first place.

"Once I'm done with that, I'll help you find whoever it was that you were looking for," she promised him. "It'll be easier with two sets of eyes rather than one."

"I suppose so," he said.

With that, Crimson slipped on a hat to cover her head and a jacket to hide her Rekka inside of. She wasn't expecting an encounter or anything, but being prepared could mean the difference between life and death. That was why she also had her materia on-hand as well.

She left the Inn behind and made her way to the station in order to catch the next train heading upwards.

 **[-oOo-]**

Cloud waited until the former Turk was gone for about half-an-hour before he grabbed his sword and slung it over his back, attaching it with the magnetic holster. He couldn't sit in the room and wait for her to return. A SOLDIER didn't rely on others when it came down to it, others relied on them instead.

He left the Inn and made his way towards the park, where he felt that someone would be waiting for him. Even though he couldn't remember who she was, he had a feeling that if he saw something of hers then he would recognize her. It was a long-shot, but it was better than sitting around and doing nothing.

Once inside of the park, he found the disheveled landscape around him to be a contrast to what he remembered it to look like. Piles of trash and debris were piled up, when before it looked at least somewhat respectable. To expect anyone to wait for him here would be tantamount to asking them to die with all the monsters lurking in the distance. Not that he feared them.

He waded through the debris until he came across a wheel. It was connected to wood and metal that had been smashed at some point, most likely by one of the monsters traveling around the place. Cloud touched the wheel and—

 _Do you think we'll sell a lot of flowers?_

"Flowers?" he murmured as the memory of words came and went. The headache subsided, and he recognized it was the remnants of a flower wagon that he had made for…someone. Who it was still alluded him, but he felt that he had an idea of what to look for now.

"A woman who sells flowers," he said to himself. "Shouldn't be too hard to find in a place like this. There's only a few places someone could grow them."

Cloud made his way towards a gate to Sector 7 as it opened, slipping through as a Chocobo-driven merchant's cart passed by. He walked through the crossroads and found himself in the slums beneath the plate. It was even dingier than Wall Market, with the most noticeable landmark being the 7th Heaven Bar found there. It seemed like a good enough place to start his search.

Brazenly, the ex-SOLDIER climbed the stairs, pushed open the door, and asked, "I'm looking for information on—"

"Cloud?" he heard from behind the bar stall. "Cloud Strife, is that you?"

The voice left the question he was about to ask dead on his lips as he recognized the dark brown-haired bartender. He blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Nope, she was still there, coming from behind the bar and inching towards him. "Tifa, you're alive?"

Tears formed on the corners of her eyes and she threw herself into him, wrapping her arms around his neck for a hug.

 **[-oOo-]**

Kunsel sat in a small diner found in Sector 1, situated above the plate and close to the Train Station. It was some distance away from the Shinra Headquarters, around a corner and out of the way. That made it an ideal spot for an undisturbed coffee and sandwich, or exchanging information that could be considered vital to certain individuals.

He was dressed in a black pea coat and pants, with a pair of shades. The eyes of someone who was infused with Mako were too recognizable, so he hid them to remain as discreet as possible. There he sat with his hands resting on top of a folded newspaper, deep in thought.

Luxiere hadn't returned from his mission, and it was made clear he had died in the line of duty when they sent men in to clean out his room of personal belongings. The reason was unclear, and he didn't get any answers from Heidegger besides the fact that he was down a team. Another friend gone and the truth covered up, adding to the growing list.

Kunsel wondered if he should simply cut his losses when it came to the company and clear out, before he died next. There were measures in place for him to slink out of the city, with some resources stashed in Kalm. One quick stop and he could disappear somewhere that the company couldn't reach.

 _"Mind if I borrow that paper, if you aren't reading it that is?"_ he heard from the seat behind him, pulling him from his thoughts. The voice was familiar, if soft, and he could see the red hair hidden by the cap from the reflection in his drinking glass.

He took the folded newspaper and passed it to her. "You should check out the main page. It has interesting tidbits on the latest research into Mako by Shinra."

"I'll hand it back when I'm done," she said.

"Nah, I've read everything in it already." He rose out of his seat and stretched. "I'm feeling a bit stiff after sitting here so long. I think I'll just take a walk and get some air."

He left out of the diner with that said. There was a park nearby, with a little spot tucked away out of sight and mind. He'd wait there to see if he had been followed, or if she had been instead.

One thing he learned in dealing with information was that you could never be too careful.

 **[-oOo-]**

"Where have you been all this time?" Tifa asked Cloud as they sat at a table together. "I looked everywhere for you, but I couldn't find you."

"I've apparently been comatose since what happened in Nibelheim." He felt the weight of the stares he was getting from the other people there, more than a few of them wary because of his eyes. He did his best to ignore them. "I only woke up not too long ago, and I thought you had died."

Tifa's eyes sharpened, and her brows creased. "What do you mean?"

"It was five years ago now since Sephiroth destroyed Nibelheim," he clarified. "You chased after him to the Mako Reactor."

"You were there?" she said, surprised.

"Yes, I was dispatched as the second SOLDIER joining him in Nibelheim," he claimed. "You acted as our tour guide during that time, until Sephiroth went mad and set fire to the town. You said that you hated Shinra, SOLDIER, and Mako Reactors, and then…."

Cloud's hands tightened into fists. "I remember that day, watching you be cut down by his blade… I thought the wounds were fatal."

"That's…" She shook her head, shifting her words in the process. "No, I… barely made it. Zangan saved me and brought me to Midgar. I searched for you, but I couldn't find you."

"I… can't remember well what happened after I chased him down," he admitted. "Only that I confronted and killed him before I succumbed to my injuries. I only woke up a few weeks ago, heading towards Midgar to find someone and to get work as a mercenary, but I ended up in Gongaga under the care of someone else—a woman."

Tifa held her chin in thought. "Why did she take you that far away?"

"She said it was a favor for someone else, and explained that I was captured and experimented on for the last few years while comatose. My memories are foggy at some points as a side-effect from the mako poisoning, and my body ended up weak from the long period of inactivity. Gongaga was a safe place to hide, but eventually Shinra came after us and they burned the village to the ground."

There was a loud bang on the table behind them as the large man with a prosthetic gun-arm slammed it onto the table. "That's what they do!" he snarled. "They're destroying this planet, and when push comes to shove, Shinra destroys everything and tries to cover it up. They need to be stopped."

"Barret," Tifa said as the man rose to his feet and lumbered over to Cloud's table.

"Can he be trusted?" Barret asked.

Tifa nodded her head. "Cloud is… even though it's been a long time, I do trust him. He's not the kind of person who would tolerate what they've done."

He nodded and then faced Cloud. "You said you were going to be a mercenary, right?"

"That's right," the ex-SOLDIER said.

Barret looked him square in the eyes. "And you don't feel any sort of attachment to your former workplace?"

"Obviously not," he said, returning the man's stare. "After everything they've done, how could I?"

A grin stretched across his face. "Then I got a job for you."

 **[-oOo-]**

"Looks like neither of us was followed," Crimson said as she leaned against a wall, next to running water.

There was a stone fence about eight-feet high in the park, with an aqueduct on the other side of it. A small platform big enough to fit two people was there, hidden from view. Out of sight, and with the water muffling their voices, it was the perfect place for clandestine meetings.

"Thanks for the fake ID, by the way," she added. It was how she caught the train so easily after sneaking into the city. "I'm not going to ask who you got to make it, but it worked perfectly."

"You end up being strange bedfellows with a lot of people when it comes to building an intelligence network." He took off his glasses, showing his eyes off. "Though it did cost a bit to get it made well enough."

"I can compensate you with Gil," she offered, reaching for her wallet. "How much?"

Kunsel shook his head. "Information will suffice. I'm looking into what happened with Luxiere, but I've gotten nothing on it from Heidegger. Normally he'd throw a tantrum and abuse someone while screaming the problem, but this time he's been rather tight-lipped."

"… I didn't see what happened personally since I was evacuating as many people as I could, but he was at the center of the missile strike that Shinra launched at Gongaga." Crimson shrugged her shoulders. "I imagine that it killed him."

She was fairly certain it was true. Cloud had been outmatched when they fought, but she found him alive and the Buster Sword was covered in blood. It was easier to tell him the missile did it, and not the sword of a man who he admired.

Kunsel exhaled softly and shook his head. "He was a good man, if a bit power-hungry."

"Gongaga burned and innocent people died on his call," Crimson said, unwilling to see it that way. "Calling him good is a stretch from what I saw."

"He was following orders from above," Kunsel countered, putting back on his shades. "Not everyone is willing to go against the system they were trained into. You should understand better than anyone. After all, the Turks have a reputation for a reason. I was recruited into the SOLDIER program by one, and they weren't exactly gentle about it."

Her lips pursed thin, unable to deny his words. It was true for the most part.

"How did it feel to be on the other side?" Kunsel asked. "Normally, the Turks make things like what happened in Gongaga possible. You were the newest member, but I doubt that the years you spent with them left you without some blood on your hands because of the company's orders."

"… I hate it," she admitted, after a pause. "Before all of this, I used to think that for all the evils of the company and all the dirty secrets, the good done outweighed the wrongs. But I just can't see things that way anymore. The fact that such orders could be given without consideration for the people caught in it is simply inexcusable."

"Shinra is a behemoth of a monster, corrupted from the inside out," Kunsel pointed out. "We're simply two people who recognize that, but it doesn't change the fact that there is nothing we can do about it."

"I suppose you're right." That was a bitter realization. So much so that Crimson changed the topic just to get away from it. "On those files you gave me, there didn't seem to be any detailed information on mako poisoning or Cloud's memory condition. It didn't tell me much more than I already knew about symptoms and causes, but nothing on treatment."

"Hojo keeps a lid on things," he said. "The Science Division is the hardest one to get hooks into, let alone his personal files. You'd need to either get into his office or get the answers out of him directly."

"Of course he would have the answers…." Crimson sighed. "He was the one that had captured Zack and Cloud. There was no telling what kind of experimenting he did on them until Zack managed to escape."

She didn't want to risk it, but if the answers were with him then she just had to capture him and get what she wanted… one way or another. "I don't suppose you would know when he'll leave the building, or where he lives?"

The second-class SOLDIER shook his head. "That quack doesn't leave the building unless there's a research site to visit. And any time he's outside of his lab, he's under heavy security. I hate to say it, but if you want him then you'll have to get him on the inside."

A low grumble left her throat at the thought. It looked like she really was going to have to pay a visit to headquarters, no matter how suicidal it seemed. "I can think of a few ways of getting into the building, but I'd need a keycard with high enough clearance in order to get to his laboratory."

"I'll see what I can do," Kunsel told her. "But after that I'm getting out of Midgar. Picking up tidbits of information is one thing, but sneaking you inside is another story."

Crimson acknowledged his point. "I can't thank you enough. It was only because you stayed behind that we made it this far in the first place."

"It's what Zack would have wanted," he said before he jumped over the wall and left the park.

Crimson waited for ten minutes before she climbed the fence, giving him enough time to get clear and throw off suspicion that they were together if someone was in the park. She ran simulations through her head about the various ways she could get inside headquarters without being detected. It could take some time to get things in order, so she'd need to tell Cloud and pick up some supplies too.

And then there was helping Cloud finding the person he had came to look for. If he really was borrowing from Zack's memories, then they must have been important to him. It left her feeling a little jealous, which was silly since Zack was gone now.

Part of her wanted to visit the other Turks too, since they were like family. But she wasn't sure she could look at them the same way after that talk with Kunsel. The Turks had done a lot of questionable things in their time, and knowing that tarnished the image of them that she had.

It felt a bit dirty in the end, going against the company by infiltrating headquarters when Tseng had risked a lot by setting her free. If she got caught, everyone in the group might end up being purged. She didn't want that to happen either….

Before she could brood on the conflicting thoughts any longer, something went horribly wrong. The Mako Reactor exploded in a wave of force and flames, and screams filled the air with acrid smoke rising into the night sky.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Once again, thank you for those who have read it so far. Increase the follow and favorite. Little by little but it's better than nothing.**

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 **Enjoy the chapter!**

Cloud stood alone as the other members of AVALANCHE scattered from the flame-shrouded entrance, their bomb having gone off and successfully blown open the door to their escape route. Now that the others were gone, he silently brought a hand up to his ribs and breathed out a pained sigh. He couldn't show weakness in front of others, but the battle against the Guard Scorpion had done a number on him when its Tail Laser blasted him.

In the end, it was a mistake attacking when the tail was up. He managed to block with the Buster Sword, but the impact of the blast still knocked him down. Unfortunately, Crimson had taken her healing materia when she left, so he was going to have to tough it out.

There was no time to linger. It would only be a matter of minutes before Shinra troops came to investigate, and his eyes would likely give him away. They were too recognizable. He had to get to the train and meet up at Sector 8 fast.

Cloud climbed the stairs and then came onto the street lined with overturned cars and wreckage, people scrambling around. The explosion must've disheveled them, and the debris was collateral damage. He walked as calmly as he could to avoid stressing his injury until he saw a woman in a pink dress and red bolero jacket being knocked down.

It was what was next to her, a basket of scattered flowers, which caught his eyes. Was it her he was looking for? He had to know, so he walked over as she began placing the flowers back into the basket and gave her a hand. "Let me help you."

"Thank you," she said. Her eyes lingered on his outfit and sword a moment longer than normal, but then set to work in collecting all the remaining flowers. When they were done and stood up, she reached into the basket and gave him one. "Take this as a token of my gratitude."

Cloud took at the flower and looked at it. It was healthy in this land where even weeds struggled to thrive. "These are rather rare, aren't they?"

"I grow them," she explained. "It's a dream of mine to fill the slums with flowers."

The words brought pain as memories surfaced, only to slip through the cracks and into the darkness again. This time he tried desperately to hold onto them but—

 _Hey, let's start now!_

 _Huh? Start what?_

 _Start filling the slums with flowers!_

—the more he did, the more pain there was. It was breaking his mind apart, and he fell to his knees and clutched his head. "Agghhhhh!"

"Are you all right?" he heard as the headache raged within his skull. "Did you get injured by the explosion? Let me heal you."

Sweet, blissful relief flooded his body. It miraculously numbed the headache as well, which even Crimson couldn't with her materia. With both the headache and his injury from the battle gone, Cloud rose to his feet and felt refreshed in body and mind.

"Are you feeling better now?" the flower girl asked.

He gave a brief nod. "Yes. Thank you for that."

When their eyes met again, the flower girl stared into them for a moment. "Eyes the color of the sky," she said in a tone that sounded as though she was recalling a memory. "But they aren't scary at all…."

Cloud looked confused. "Huh?"

"Forgive me. I was just remembering something someone said to me." She fondly touched a ribbon in her hair, and small smile formed on her face. "Are you SOLDIER by chance?"

"I used to be…." His eyes drifted down to the flower she had given him, and he held it between them. "Have we… met before?"

The flower girl shook her head. "I don't think we have. Why?"

"It's just that, I was looking for someone who sold flowers," he told her. "But I don't know why."

"I'm sure you'll find who you're looking for if you keep searching," she told him. "Now, I'd better get going. My mother will be worried if I loiter around after that explosion."

Cloud watched her go silently, holding the flower by the stem as tenderly as he could. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt that she knew more than she let on. Regardless, he still needed to rendezvous with the others on the train. So he tucked the flower away and continued on.

That was when he heard the troops calling for him to stop and reached for his sword.

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson was grateful that she was far enough from the reactor when it went up.

The damage was mostly confined to the northern section, but there must've been a number of people injured from the shockwave. Let alone the causalities for those who were close to it. While there were occasions where reactors blew up, like in Gongaga, those in Midgar were constantly monitored and maintained.

It had to be an act of terrorism, meaning security was about to get tight and the Turks would also investigate. That was bad when she wasn't supposed to be in the city. Worse, when she managed to slip back down to the Wall Market and the Inn, she found that Cloud was missing.

She couldn't help but groan at that. "Why couldn't he wait?"

Cloud didn't have a PHS, so she couldn't contact him through that method. That left her little choice but to wait for him to return. But even that was dashed when she went down to see if he left a message with the Inn-Keeper and found Shinra troops just around the corner, questioning him.

"We're searching for a man with blond hair and blue eyes, carrying a large sword," she heard one of the troops say. "He's a suspect in the reactor bombing and attacked several troops, but he doesn't appear in the ID registry, so we're working on the assumption that he's a guest—"

Crimson swore under breath and then made a beeline for their room, leaving before the conversation could come to an end. The Inn-Keeper would give them away to avoid trouble, so she had maybe thirty seconds at best to grab their bags and then climb out the window. She locked the door and barred the entrance with a chair beneath the door knob.

It was closer to fifteen second before the door was kicked in, leaving her just enough time to jump out the window, grab an outcropped pipe, and sling herself into the alley next to the building. Out of sight from the troops, she slipped into the crowd and she managed to get to the Sector 6 Park undetected, where she dumped their bags into the unused attractions. Having escaped captivity for a time, she took a moment to think about what she had to do next.

"Okay, if they're looking for Cloud then they have to send that information out somehow," she said to herself. "In that case, my best bet would be to check one of the outposts they have in the city…."

She trailed off as she recalled the bombing and how destructive it had been. The death count from the initial blast and panic were going to be high, and that's without adding the additional fallout from the lack of power in that sector. She didn't want to believe Cloud was responsible for that, but there was only one way to find out.

Crimson caught the train to Sector 5 of the city, where she knew one of the outposts was, and deftly entered through the rear entrance by knocking out one of the guards on a smoking break. The outpost was mostly empty since a good part of the infantrymen who had also been assigned there were slaughtered when they had to deal with Zack. There wasn't an immediate need for the city to reassign them to the sector, so it was heavily undermanned.

Crimson managed to knock out the last guard with ease and access their computer to see what their current orders were easily enough. Her fears proved to be well-founded. "Blond-hair, claiming to be ex-SOLDIER but no records found, last spotted in this sector, heading for the Reactor with known members of AVALANCHE!?"

That was bad for a number of reasons. Her initial plan had been to get in, find out how to cure him, and then get out. If they had this much information then the Turks were going to put together his identity soon. Not to mention it would make hiding harder than it had been before.

She rustled her hair in aggravation and then turned her attention back to the screen as new information came pouring in. "Trap in effect, deploying 'Airbuster' techno-SOLDIER prototype to deal with threat, arrival time estimated to be ten minutes."

"Well, that's just fantastic," she said bitterly as she rose to her feet. It would take her too long to get there on foot if she was going to do anything. First she would get him out of there, then she was going to slap some sense into him for getting involved with terrorists of all people.

Crimson went over to the outpost's supply room. It was decently stocked all things considered. She took whatever she thought might be useful—wire, materia, potions, gil, etc.

Then she grabbed the keys to a motorcycle in the garage and rode off on it a minute later.

 **[-oOo-]**

Tifa joined Cloud and Barret as they set the bomb in the Sector 5 Mako Reactor.

It was a risk, attacking a second reactor so soon after they had done the first. But the first one had gone off without a hitch thanks to Cloud being there. By acting quickly they could capitalize on the confusion and further cripple Shinra.

It was a conflicting feeling, Cloud being SOLDIER and her loathing of Shinra for what they did to her home. And then there was his recollection of what happened that day. From the sound of it, he was there personally.

But that wasn't the case. The only ones there that day were the two SOLDIERs she had taken a picture with, Zack and Sephiroth. She had been struck down by the latter of the two, after he had killed her father and she tried to strike him down with his own sword. Zack had found her and she refused his help, preferring death over the help of a Shinra agent after everything they had taken from her.

Cloud said he was traveling with someone to cure his memories. She would have to go looking for them later on to see about getting some answers. But, until then, she could keep a closer eye on him this way.

As they arrived at a T-junction, Tifa's silent fear that the trip had been too easy was confirmed when they spotted guards for the first time. They should've had been able to mow through them easy enough, but the narrow walkway left little room to navigate. It was like they were lined-up for the firing squad as things stood.

"So the vermin have arrived," they heard, turning their heads to see that President Shinra was here as well. The portly man looked them over with the same attention that one would give a rodent. "I don't bother with trivial infestations since that's Heidegger's job, but I thought I should see the allegations of their being another traitor for myself. The eyes show you've received the mako-infusions… what's your name?"

"Cloud Strife," he said. "Former First-Class SOLDIER."

"Hmm, not one I'm familiar with," the president said. "Well, that's to be expected. I don't know the names of all the rank-and-file. Only those like Genesis and Sephiroth, too clever by half those two…."

"No more talking!" Barret said, holding up his gatling arm and opening fire. The bullets bounced off a solid screen of light. It was a barrier of some kind, leaving the president untouched while the other soldiers opened fire on him.

Cloud used his sword as a shield to block them from hitting Tifa. Barret retreated behind the sword as well once his arm became damaged from retaliatory spray of bullets. It was useless to him now.

The shooting stopped as the president raised his hand, issuing a silent command. "You're truly nothing, if not vermin, for thinking I would come here today without a defensive materia. Your predecessor was at least an obstinate threat, but you're not even a thorn in my side. The only reason you made it this far was because of the traitor."

Barret gnashed his teeth and tried to lunge at him, only being stopped by Tifa as the soldiers readied to fire again. That was when the mechanical whir of moving metal reached their ears and a new combat-orientated robot entered from behind. They all dodged as it plowed a straight-line towards where Cloud had been.

The president continued to speak to Cloud as though the rest weren't even there, much less a threat to him. "Between the Genesis War and rogue SOLDIERs like you, we've decided to go a new route in dealing with threats. You'll get to serve as test subject for our prototype techno-SOLDIER. I'm sure we'll get some valuable data from your death."

The prototype presented machine guns that swiveled around and opened fire on the SOLDIER, forcing him to block until it fired small missiles that detonated against the sword. The blast knocked them all back from the sheer force. Cloud right himself first and took up a fighting stance, blade at the ready as the machine redid its calculations and threat assessment.

President Shinra paid it little mind as a helicopter lowered itself next to him and he hopped inside of it to depart. As soon as he was clear of the area, the soldiers retreated through their entrance and barred that exit as well. That left the three of them facing the prototype that towered over them by twice on their own.

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson stood with her breath held in her chest as the soldiers began to file out of the reactor, following the helicopter that passed overhead.

She waited for thirty-seconds after they had cleared out before going in, towards the sound of gunfire and explosions muffled by a solid steel door. It was barred from her side with an electronic lock. Thankfully it was a model that she was familiar with, so she pulled the paneling off and fiddled with the wiring to get it open.

When the door finally opened, she witnessed what she presumed to be the prototype weapon assaulting Cloud and two others. The long-haired woman he was with was kneeling over a large man with one arm missing, replaced with a now-damaged weapon arm. He was lying on the ground, nursing a wound to his shoulder, while Cloud was in front of them using his sword to fend off the machine's arms.

Crimson tapped into the power of the Thunder Materia. Lightning crackled between her fingers and outstretched palm before a serpentine bolt arced towards the machine. It struck with a deafening roar that resounded off the surrounding metal with a flash of blinding light, leaving tongues of electricity running over its body from the electrical damage.

"Crimson, look out!" Cloud yelled. "It has a counter for back attacks!"

The warning came just in time as a machine gun sprouted out of its back and opened fire, leaving the former Turk to roll over the trail of shots as they smashed into the wall behind where she had been. Coming out of the roll, she activated her Sense Materia and entered into a state of hyperawareness. The details of its frame came to mind, the flaws in its design now obvious, and the munitions it carried clear.

She flung her Rekka at the machine gun port. The sharp points severed the connection point, leaving it no longer operational. Crimson pulled at the thin steel wire connected to the shuriken to reclaim it as the Airbuster whirled around and prepared to run her down.

"No, you don't!" Cloud brought his mako-infused muscles and heavy sword down at an angle, cleaving into the mechanism it used to hover just barely above the platform they stood on. He hefted the blade out and then brought it up for a second strike.

The machine's top-half swiveled around and used its right hand to catch the blade, while the left came in for a heavy punch. The long-haired woman threw herself in front of him and caught the fist with both her hands, managing to stop it. Then she reared back and threw a punch that blew the arm, already damaged by the lightning strike earlier, to pieces.

Crimson followed that up with another bolt spell, making the Airbuster release Cloud's sword. The sound of the gears grating as the internal mechanism began failing were akin to a death knell. It was on its last leg.

"Get Barret out of here!" Cloud told the long-haired woman as he cleaved off the machine's other hand and created an opening. She lifted the man who was easily twice her weight and leapt over the machine. Cloud thrust his blade into the torso of the failing prototype before it could strike them and grabbed its attention a final time. "This is the power of a real SOLDIER!"

He jerked the blade out, and stepped back from it to gain enough distance. Tapping into the power of his rage for a Limit Break, he chambered his blade and leapt into the air. Then he brought it back down as he fell to combine his strength, the blade's weight, and gravity into a downward slash that could rend steel. "BRAVER!"

The Buster Sword cleaved through the entirety of the Airbuster and the rest of the missile munitions. The end result triggered an explosion that rang out with enough force to send the others sprawling over the platform.

"Cloud!" Crimson heard the other girl scream as she got onto her feet. She looked to see that a massive opening appeared beneath the SOLDIER. Cloud barely hung on to the edge while gripping the Buster Sword with his other hand.

"Get out… of here!" he ordered. There were numerous burns covering his body from the brunt of the explosion, and he was straining to hold on. "Time… up… bomb is about to—"

The roar of another explosion cut him off as the bomb they had set went off, starting a chain reaction. The entire reactor trembled, leading the large man to drag the long-haired woman towards the entrance that Crimson had used, screaming as Cloud's grasp slipped and fell below. They were passed by Crimson as she ran over to the opening, wire wrapped around her wrist and Rekka in hand.

She immediately threw herself after him, falling down into the depths.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/U: Once more, thank you for those who have read it again.**

 **Team Wingless: Thank you for the comment.**

 **LordofVermillion: Thank you. And yes Cissnei in the main storyline will make an impact.**

 **Kaze: Do not worry, it's won't die easily in this story.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

Crimson leapt after Cloud, falling down lower and lower towards the slums at a deathly velocity. With her free hand, she reached for Cloud as he stretched his right hand out, the left one still holding onto his sword. She grasped his wrist as he grabbed hers, giving them a strong grip on one another, and then threw her Rekka with the wire attached towards a pipe as they fell past it.

The shuriken wrapped around the pipe and then pierced into the metal to anchor itself into place. The wire went taut and Crimson cried out as her shoulder was wrenched from its socket. The pain nearly made her blackout, a sharp sensation that grew worse as her arm had to bear with their combined weight and the heavy sword.

"Are you okay?" Cloud asked.

"I… I'm fine," she lied through gritted teeth, doing her best to ignore the agony as she looked for a way to land safely. Her mind flickered between the pain and lucidity, but she spotted a ledge that she could set them down on. She began swaying her legs to get the wire to swing, but another explosion shook the entire structure.

The jolt of the explosion wrenched her shuriken free while jerking her arm and threatening to tear it off. The additional pain became too much. Her vision went black as her mind blanked out.

So they both began falling once more, with Cloud pulling her close and embracing her against his chest as he fell first, intent on using his more durable body as a shield for hers.

 **[-oOo-]**

The flower girl from before had seen her share of interesting things during her time at the Sector 5 Church.

The church itself was dilapidated and abandoned save for her, only a vestige of the humble place of worship it used to be. It had been her home away from home, as well as a place of solitude and remembrance. She had met with her boyfriend there, been attacked by a strange robot, and was even watched over by some kind of winged-wolf that remained with her until it delivered her final letter to Zack.

However, she never expected to see someone falling through the opening in the ceiling and landing on the flowers that she had cultivated there _twice_.

There was an explosion above that rattled the already decrepit walls, sprinkling dust into her hair. Then suddenly a body crashed into the soft dirt and flowers. It naturally got her attention and she rushed over from the pews she had stumbled into during the initial tremors.

It turned out to be the same young man she had met before, only this time he had a woman resting against his chest while wrapped in his arms.

The flower girl couldn't tell the extent of their injuries, but she could see that they were pretty banged up. It wouldn't do to simply let them die here. She kneeled down and began healing them with the materia she carried on her, containing the knowledge of healing from the planet itself.

Burns healed over, flesh mended, muscles knitted together, and bones shifted back into their original place. As their strength returned, they both stirred awake. The flower girl gave them a small smile and asked, "Are you both okay now?"

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson took a moment after waking to realize her positioning, on top of Cloud while embraced by him, and her face grew flush as she pulled herself away.

Then her embarrassment turned to displeasure when she recalled _why_ she had been placed in the predicament in the first place. Namely that her charge had been working with terrorists… and just bombed a _second_ reactor.

"What were you thinking?" Crimson said as she slugged him in the shoulder. The hit didn't hurt since she pulled her punch, mostly because she didn't know whether or not he had been hurt too badly.

"What was that for?" Cloud asked.

"What for?" Sitting astride of his waist, she grabbed his collar and shook him. "You were working with AVALANCHE! They're terrorists! How could you?"

"It was just a mercenary job," Cloud claimed, setting his hands on her wrists to stop her without squeezing too hard. "Besides, it was one of Shinra's reactors, the same company that tried to kill us."

"That doesn't make it better!" Crimson leaned down until their faces were a hair's breadth from one another, looking him square in his eyes. "People died in the first explosion, both the employees and civilians from the collateral damage."

He shook his head. "I—"

"And what about people who were relying on the power from the two reactors to survive?" she added, cutting him off before he justified it. "Hospitals needed that power to keep patients alive, food processing plants needed it to keep people fed, and the water treatment plants needed it to keep the water clean—you've made the lives of everyone even more difficult when SOLDIERs are meant to protect them! How was that any different from what happened in Gongaga!?"

Cloud looked down at that, a small frown on his face. She wondered if shame was why he kept silent. At least it showed he was capable of feeling something for the victims of his brashness.

"He wouldn't have done that," Crimson murmured as she released him. "Don't swing his sword around if you're going to ruin his memories."

"Excuse me?" they both heard, turning their heads at the same time to see the flower girl sitting next to them. "If you're done now, can you get off the flowers?"

"Sorry," Crimson said as she rose to her feet and stepped off the bed of flower, plucking her Rekka from the edge where it had fallen. She then extended her hand for Cloud to take and help him up.

He got up on his own and walked over to the center aisle between the pews, keeping his back to her and looking down to the ground.

"Fine then," Crimson said with a sigh. If Cloud needed a firm hand to drive the message across, then she'd be that hand so that he didn't tarnish the memories of Zack any further. She turned her attention to the young woman instead. "I'm sorry if we bothered you. Since I don't see burns on Cloud and my shoulder's fixed, should I assume you healed us?"

The flower girl nodded. "Thankfully your injuries were minimal. Then again, it's not every day that someone falls from that height into a bed of flowers, clinging to one another like something out of a fairy tale. You should go easy on him."

Crimson brushed her hair behind her ears and looked to the side, blushing slightly. "I'm grateful for what he did, but it shouldn't have come to that in the first place. I swear, sometimes he—"

"AHHHH!" Cloud's scream of anguish cut her off, leaving her to watch as he fell to his knees with tears in his eyes.

"Not again," Crimson said with all traces of her previous anger gone. Worry took its place and she hurried to his side. The best she could do was to help him up, but there was nothing she could do for the pain. "Cloud, just try to bear with it until it passes."

"I think I can help here," the flower girl said. Once more her healing spell brought peace to his mind, leaving Crimson with a question burning in her eyes. Before she could say anything, Cloud spoke with a hitch in his voice, looking at her the flower girl.

"I was here before, crying after Angeal died," he said. "Aerith, you were here to console me… It was you I was coming here for, wasn't it?"

Crimson watched as the girl, Aerith gave him a questioning glance of her own. Then it seemed like realization donned on her face. She sighed, her glance turning to a pitying expression.

"So that's what happened," she said. "I understand now. Seeing him die must've confused you…."

"What's going on?" Crimson asked as the doors to the church groaned while they opened, light spilling in around four silhouettes. As they entered into the building, the light dimmed to reveal that three of them were nameless troops. The last one Crimson recognized. "Reno?"

"Cissnei?" Reno's face scrunched up in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"That's what I should be asking," she said, reaching for one of the materia she had taken from the outpost as stealthy as possible. A fight with an old friend was the last thing she wanted. "Why are you in the slums?"

"For me, I would assume," Aerith said to the pair. "I would really rather not end up in their custody."

"Sir," one of the troops said, pointing his gun to Cloud. "He matches the description of the suspect from the earlier assaults and bombings!"

And that was her cue. Crimson activated the materia and silently cast the sleep spell. The troops kept it on-hand for subduing suspects without lethal force in the city, but for trained agents like the Turks and SOLDIERs the effectiveness was lowered.

It was still enough to rattle Reno, leaving him shaking his head to clear the drowsiness. The few seconds was long enough for them to get a head-start, and they took it.

"We can get out through the back!" Aerith said, grabbing Cloud's hand and pulling him along.

Crimson gave Reno a parting glance before following after them. She had little doubt that he would come after her next time prepared to treat her as an enemy. The same trick wouldn't work twice.

Reno ran his hands through his hair and sighed. Then he reached for his phone and called his superior. "Tseng, we have a problem."

 **[-oOo-]**

"Where did he go now?" Crimson said with annoyance clear in her voice.

Aerith was walking next to her as they combed the streets of the Wall Market to find Cloud after he had run off. They escaped and brought Aerith to her home, and her mother had kindly asked them to leave while she slept since she didn't want them to get her in more trouble. Crimson still had questions she wanted to ask, but the last thing she wanted was to cause trouble for someone who wasn't involved.

It proved to be a moot point anyway when Aerith had somehow beaten them to the Sector 6 Park. But before they could get any answers from one another, Cloud ran off chasing after that long-haired woman who had been in the reactor. She was on a cart heading here, so now they were looking for him.

"Did he forget that he's a wanted man?" Crimson breathed out a heavy sigh. "He carries a huge sword around on his back. It shouldn't be this hard to spot him"

"Speaking of that sword, can I ask where he got it?" Aerith asked.

"…a friend gave it to him," Crimson said, a noticeable hesitation in her voice. "He died recently, and Cloud's suffering from some problems that I'm trying to help him through."

"It's because he has Zack Fair's memories," Aerith said. "They're conflicting with his own, so that's why he has those headaches."

Crimson came to a stop and turned back to face her. "How do you know that?"

"That's part of the reason that Shinra was after me," she said. "To them, I'm known as an Ancient and can lead them to a promised land of free energy. The truth is a bit different—I can hear the planet's voice, and those who dwell inside of it after returning to the Lifestream."

Crimson was skeptical, for the most part. Dead was dead, or so she had been taught. But if the company was targeting her, then there must've been some truth to it.

"I waited for Zack to return for years," Aerith said as she touched her chest and closed her eyes. "And then I felt when he died a little while ago on the outskirts of the city. But it was only once Cloud told me about what happened in the church that I understood enough. Then, while I slept earlier, I heard Zack's voice telling me to help you both if I could."

Crimson wanted to dismiss it off-hand. It felt almost too good to be true, in all honesty. But part of her wanted to believe that Zack's voice could be heard, even after he had died. "Is that why you can heal his headaches?"

Aerith opened her eyes and gave Crimson a warm smile. "Because of my connection with the planet, I can suppress the pain for a time. But I'm not sure what about his condition led to this happening, nor can I stop it from happening."

"I'll still need to look into treatment for him, but it's better than nothing," Crimson said. If she had to admit it, she was a little jealous. It seemed that Zack had been quite close to her, and she couldn't blame him since the girl was clearly special in contrast to her.

Aerith walked up to her and clasped her hands before she could stew on it. "I also wanted to thank you. It was because you gave them your bike that they had a chance at freedom, and that I could hear his voice once more. So thank you for everything."

Jealous of her or not, Crimson couldn't bring herself to feel animosity towards Aerith when she said things like that. "It was the right thing to do, that's all…."

"Hey, let me go!" they heard further ahead.

"Answer the question!" a familiar voice replied.

"That would be him," Aerith said. "Shall we go?"

Crimson gave her a nod.

 **[-oOo-]**

"This is the place?" Cloud asked, standing outside of Don Corneo's Mansion with the girls.

He had learned that Tifa was apparently looking for work at a sleazy-looking place known as the Honeybee Inn. That entailed coming to this mansion. It set off some warning bells for Cloud.

"Not this sleaze-ball," Crimson said, rubbing the bridge between her eyes.

"You know him?" Aerith asked.

She nodded. "One of my missions was to investigate his place, hobbies, and other things. Any details that could be used against him should the company need to do so. He's… well, to be blunt, scum."

"I need details," Cloud said.

"It would be better if you didn't know," Crimson said, narrowing her eyes. "Speaking of which, who is she? She was with those terrorists earlier, so I can guess she's part of them. But why do you care if you only helped them as a mercenary?"

"…Tifa is a friend of mine from Nibelheim," he admitted. "I thought Sephiroth had killed her, but she managed to survive. I failed to save her then, when our home burned, so when she asked me to help her…."

"You decided to help make the lives of everyone else difficult," she finished for him. "Fine, I'll talk. Corneo claims he's looking for a bride, but really he takes the time line women up and then has his way with one of them, leaving the rest for his men to have fun with. Considering he has a dungeon that has seen use and a trap door leading down to the sewers where his pet monster is, you can guess what happens to those who aren't so willing or don't satisfy him."

"Oh dear," Aerith murmured, looking as though she had swallowed something bitter. "And they haven't arrested him yet?"

"Shinra allows him to remain in power because he's useful in certain aspects." Crimson looked ashamed at that. "Believe me, I don't like it anymore than you do."

"…I'm busting in," Cloud decided, reaching for his sword as he took a step forward.

Crimson stopped him before he could go further. "You're a wanted man, and he has a direct line to the Shinra's troops. You go in there sword swinging, and you'll make things even worse."

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" he asked, letting go of the sword. "Tifa is in there and that guy—"

"I'll go check on her," Aerith suggested.

They both turned to her and said, at the same time, "No, it's too dangerous."

"Okay, then Crimson will go with me." A mischievous smile appeared on her face when they both looked puzzled by the suggestion. "Only women are allowed in, and it's _apparently_ too dangerous for me go alone, but she can come with me."

"Infiltrating is one thing, but extracting someone is a different story," Crimson said. "Plus, I'm not the type who could get inside."

"Non-sense, you just need the right clothes." Aerith grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the shops. "Cloud, wait here. We'll be back soon."

He watched as Crimson was dragged off, just as confused as he was, leaving him pacing in place alone. The minutes seemed to drag on until nearly an hour had passed. He was about to resort to busting in when Aerith came back, dressed in a red dress that was modest, yet suited her….

And joining her was what he presumed to be a goddess with red hair.

"H… How do I look?" she asked, not looking him in the eyes. "It's not too different than before, is it?"

It took him a moment to register the voice. "Crimson?"

She frowned at him. "Who else did you think it was?"

Cloud was speechless, only able to stare with a burning gaze as Aerith covered her mouth to stifle her giggling while Crimson's cheeks matched her name. She was adorned in a scarlet dress that hugged her hips and accentuated her breasts, wearing a silver necklace that stood out against her bare flesh. Her hair had been done up in a bun with two steel hairpins that crossed one another, high-heels decorated her feet, and a small purse was hanging from her shoulder on a spaghetti string.

Eventually, Aerith stopped her giggling and said, "It's rude to just stare and not to comment on how a woman looks when she dresses up for you, Cloud."

He rubbed the back of his head and looked sheepish at that. "You look beautiful… both of you."

That seemed to mollify Crimson, who handed him her small purse. "Go wait for us in the tailor's place. We left our clothes and weapons there. We'll meet up there once we've secured your friend."

He agreed and watched as she sauntered inside along with Aerith, swaying her hips as she did so.

 **P.S. If anyone want to know Cissnei new outfit, look at the image next to the title.**


	7. Chapter 7

**This is getting more and more intense. First time meeting between Tifa and Cissnei.**

 **Kaze: Read and you shall see.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

"Follow me," said one of the Don's men as he led the two women towards the dungeon, if Crimson recalled correctly.

Along the way, she found herself wondering why she was doing this. She hated this place, and what it represented. It was a place that showed how the company, which basically composed the security and military force of Midgar, would allow someone as depraved as the Don to exist as long as he had his uses.

It made her sick to be throwing herself into the lion's den, all to save someone who was a terrorist and made Cloud into one as well. What was she doing dressing up like eye-candy and leaving herself so exposed to the gaze of the men in the manor, all eying her and Aerith with lustful intent. Damn, she felt so naked being in the eyes of others without her Rekka.

Crimson tried to say that she was living up to what Zack wanted her to do, watching after Cloud. But Cloud wasn't here, and even Zack wouldn't have wanted her to do this sort of thing. Let alone drag his… girlfriend with her. She pressed her lips thin when she realized that she was doing this to keep Cloud from being reckless, and to keep him from worrying over the terrorist he called a friend.

As they approached the entrance to the dungeon, she looked back to see Aerith looking rather amused. It was pretty amazing in the grand scheme of things. Surrounded by men who she knew wanted her for her body, despite what Crimson had told her about the Don and his hobbies, she managed to keep that expression. The young woman was nowhere near as fragile as she projected.

"Wait here until we come and get you," the man ordered, opening the door the dungeon. The dark path down the stone stairway was only kept at bay by pale lights. He watched as they entered and then gave Crimson a quick pat on the ass, before shutting the door with a lecherous smirk on his face.

Crimson bristled, her cheeks burning in anger and embarrassment. It took Aerith holding her back from kicking the door before the lock shifted with a loud clack. She growled behind clenched teeth. "I hate this!"

"Now, now, don't blow your cover by being angry," Aerith said.

Crimson frowned at the note of mirth in her voice. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Just a little," Aerith admitted with a lilt in her voice, taking slow and steady steps downwards with Crimson following. When they entered the main section of the dungeon, she waved to the only other person there. "You're Tifa, aren't you?"

Dressed in a purple gown that clung to her hips, Tifa looked surprised at being recognized. "I'm sorry, have we met?"

"We came to help you escape," Aerith said. "Cloud was worried when he saw you being brought here, so we came in his place to bust you out."

"He's okay?" She looked over Aerith's shoulder to see Crimson's hair and recalled her. "You're that woman who came to help him."

"And you're the terrorist who blew up two reactors," Crimson said. The hostility in her voice was so thick that it could be cut with a knife.

Recognizing that, Tifa crossed her arms and asked, "Are we going to have a problem?"

"We already have a problem," Crimson stated, stepping forward until they were face-to-face. "Do you have any idea how many people died because of what you did? Do you know how complicated you made things dragging Cloud into this?"

"We were doing what we had to in order to save the planet," Tifa claimed. "Those reactors were sucking the life out of the planet. Look at the wasteland around the city; it's spreading because of them. We had to send a message—"

Crimson shook her head. "I'm not going to deny that the reactors are responsible for the condition around Midgar, nor am I defending the company. My issue here is that you bombed the reactors without considering the lives of everyone you've ruined."

"You mean the dent it made in the President's wallet?" Tifa asked.

"I mean the employees," Crimson clarified. "They were just doing their jobs, earning a living, and your bombing tactic killed them. And then there were the people who were caught up in the blast radius, and hospitals that no longer have power. Did they deserve to be injured or killed?"

Tifa opened her mouth to refute those words, only for nothing to come out.

"That's why I hate AVALANCHE," Crimson said. "You're so willing to sacrifice others to send a message, so eager to save the planet, that you're willing to kill innocent people. Yet, you don't offer an alternative or try a peaceful alternative."

"Shinra silences anyone who opposes them through words," Tifa pointed out. "They hurt and kill people and cover up the truth for the sake of profits. My town was destroyed by Shinra, and when I went back they had rebuilt it and put in people who acted like they'd lived there since the beginning."

Crimson couldn't deny that. She, as a former Turk, knew very well they did silence pronounced naysayers and cover their mistakes. Something similar had happened to Kalm. That being said, she wasn't going to let the flaw in her argument go.

"And are you telling me that your intentions to save the planet are altruistic?" she asked. "Tell me to my face that you aren't using this as an excuse to take out your aggression because of what Sephiroth did in Nibelheim."

That earned a look of mild surprise from Tifa. Her face then hardened as she realized that only a certain group of people would know the truth about that. "You're from Shinra, aren't you?"

"I quit to the company after what happened to Cloud and Zack," Crimson stated. "Whether I worked with them or not doesn't change the fact that I'm right. You're waving the banner of saving the planet to justify revenge. In the end, even if you have a point about the company, all you've done now is made an enemy of the families of the victims left behind by the bomb—"

Aerith clapped her hands before things went any further, drawing both of their attention. "That's enough, both of you. All of us have our grievances, but this isn't the place or time to discuss them."

Being the voice of reason, neither of them could deny what Aerith said. They glared at one another a final time and then looked away. Silence permeated the room for a solid minute, only to be broken by Tifa.

"…What happened to Cloud?" she asked. "His memories are jumbled. He thinks he was there when Sephiroth was there, but I remember it was another SOLDIER."

"He was there," Crimson said. "He was one of the infantryman who was there with Zack. When Sephiroth was taken down, he and Zack were taken and kept as test subjects. Zack escaped about a year ago, and Cloud was comatose because of his exposure to the mako. They were on the run until a few weeks ago when Zack came back to Midgar, and…."

"He died," Aerith finished for her, sounding crestfallen. "He was coming for me, and they killed him."

Crimson nodded. "We came across his body and Cloud as well. Tseng, the leader of the Turks, released me to look after Cloud. I took him to Gongaga, but we were attacked. So, I came here to look into finding a way to speed up his recovery."

"Tseng, you really did that…." Aerith murmured. She had known the man for most of her life, but she hadn't expected him to be so kind. Not when he constantly had her watched by the others.

Crimson ran her hands through her hair and huffed, before glaring at Tifa again. "But now that Cloud participated in your bombing, they'll have to retaliate. I won't be able to get into Shinra and find a way to treat him easily since they're going to be on high-alert."

Tifa grimaced. "What exactly does he need to get—"

"Move it, Ladies," yelled the man from before, cutting her off from the top of the stairs. It seemed they were out of time. "The Don's waiting."

"We knock out the guards and make for the exit as soon as we get near the stairs," Crimson said, outlining an escape plan.

Tifa shook her head. "I came here on purpose to question why this guy had someone looking into our base. I can't leave without that information."

"Well, that's just fantastic," Crimson said bitterly, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She was tempted to leave, but if they went without her Cloud would just burst in and cause more problems. "Fine, let's play along for now."

Aerith and Tifa nodded and the three of them climbed the stairs to be led towards the room where Don Corneo sat. The Mafioso was flanked by two other flunkies and he remained as short as Crimson remembered, portly with the majority of his hair shaved barring a strip in the center. He had an expensive coat draping his body, fur trimming lining the collar, and was smoking an expensive brand of cigar.

His eyes gleamed with a perverse lust as the girls filed in, and he rubbed his fat fingers together as they lined up. "Seems like we have a fine selection here tonight…"

Don Corneo rose out of his seat and leaped over the front of his desk in anticipation, pacing back and forth as his eyes appraisingly ran over their features. "Now, which lucky lady spends the night with the Don?"

He started with Aerith, walking around and observing how elegant she looked. "You got a nice, princess vibe. Haven't had one of those in some time, but tonight I'm feeling in the mood for something a little spicier."

Then he walked over to Tifa, and ran his fingers along her arms and legs. "Bit too firm for my liking. Then again—" He earned startled gasp as he groped her chest. "—these are nice too. I'll keep you in mind for later."

Crimson did her best to keep the faux smile on her face as he approached her and ran his fat hands against the curve of her hips, leaving her trembling in disguise at his lewd touch. It was made worse by the fact that his cigar loitered in front of her and left her at the mercy of its thick, acrid smoke.

"Yeah," he said, exhaling a puff of smoke out. "Not too hot, not too cold, you're a good mix, aren't you? I'll take you for tonight; the boys can have the other two."

Crimson almost stiffened when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the door in the left corner. She looked back to see Tifa looking as furious as she felt, though whether it was from the groping or the fact that he'd called her too muscular eluded her. The long-haired terrorist subtly showed three fingers, giving Crimson a presumed estimation for how long she would wait before acting.

 _More than enough time,_ Crimson thought as she reached up to feel that her hairpins were still there.

Don Corneo's room was as tacky as she remembered. It was about as large as the office, with a bed that took up the majority of the central space and a mat over where she knew the trap door was hidden. Over to the right was an assortment of jars and food that was used to feed his pet monster below the surface, whenever there wasn't someone for him to throw into it.

The Don climbed into the bed and beckoned her to come to him. "Come to Daddy, pussycat."

Crimson took a deep breath and then slipped into the role of a seductress as she leaned in, one knee on the edge of the bed, and pulled the Don in close. "I want to thank you for choosing me tonight."

A lecherous grin came onto his face. "If you really want to thank me, start with—"

"DON'T TOUCH ME THERE!" they heard through the door, moments before the first of his bodyguards came crashing through it and onto the mat. The second followed shortly afterwards, nursing a bloody face and missing teeth.

The Don bristled and rose up. "What—"

Crimson grabbed his hand with one hand and brought it down to the other before staking through them with her metal hairpin, lodging the thin piece of metal through both of his meaty hands and into the bed. His subsequent screams were ignored as she stepped on the fingers to keep him pinned and gave Tifa a displeased glare as she stormed in. "That was not three minutes."

"They got rather handsy," Aerith said in the way of an explanation.

"We never speak of this again." Tifa said through gritted teeth. "Not to anyone."

"No arguments here," Crimson agreed, before turning her attention back to the Don. She pulled the cigar out of his mouth and held the lit end close to his face. "Now, as much as I was enjoying your company, she has some questions she wants answers to."

"I ain't saying—Gahhhh!" His bravado turned into a scream as she pressed the lit tip against his cheek, searing the flesh. "Okay, okay, I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Tifa came around to the right side of the bed and asked, "Why were your men lurking around in the Sector 7 slums?"

"Heidegger of Shinra ordered me to find the man with the gun-arm's base," he whined. "They're going to destroy the supports and drop the plate above it onto the entire sector slums."

The revelation silenced the girls. There were thousands of people there, people who had nowhere else to go. It was insane to think that someone would go that far… but none of them could say they wouldn't. Not with what they knew about how Shinra operated.

"Heidegger really will do it," Crimson said. "He'll kill everyone just to accomplish his goal. It'll be just like Gongaga."

"And just like my home," Tifa said, balling her hands into trembling fists. "Shinra always does this!"

"We have to do something, quickly," Aerith said.

Taking advantage of their distraction at the news, Don Corneo pushed against Crimson's leg and managed to free himself from the metal hairpin. His hands were largely unusable and bloodstained, agony snaking up his arms as he clumsily tried to get away. He ended up climbing over the edge of the bed, only to topple over the men he had sprawled at the foot of the mat near the exit.

Crimson got onto her feet before he did and pulled the lever that he had installed above the bed, dropping the three into the darkness of the sewers below. Screams followed as his pet monster decided that he would make an appropriate snack after being denied food for the last day. Crimson lifted the lever and the trap door closed, sparing their ears from the sound of meat being torn from flesh and bones being gnawed by the giant rat.

"We don't have time to sit around," Tifa said, pulling out a PHS and dialing a number. She had to get the word out. "We have to go stop them from destroying the support pillar. I'll make some calls."

"It'd be better to have everyone abandon the slums," Aerith suggested. "Honestly, if they've already set things into motion, I don't think we'll be able to stop them."

"Aerith is right," Crimson said, walking around the bed and towards the exit. "You two know the area and people well, right? They'll likely listen if you tell them to run."

"What about you?" Aerith asked as she and Tifa followed Crimson, the three of them going down the stairs and out of the exit.

"There's only a handful of ways that this can be done without word getting out," Crimson said. "Knowing Heidegger, he'll send the Turks to do it and keep a low-profile. I'll…"

She trailed off. If they were ordered to get rid of the support pillar, then they would do it. They did their jobs with ruthless efficiency, and no doubt Reno would be the one called in to do it given the circumstances. She wasn't looking forward to facing him, but she couldn't let them do this.

"I'll deal with buying some time," she finished.

 **[-oOo-]**

Loitering on a rooftop in the Wall Market, there stood a blonde-haired woman in a neatly pressed suit with a pair of binoculars, looking at the three women leaving Don Corneo's manor and heading towards the marketplace.

Elena was the newest recruit for the Turks, and she had been assigned to keep eyes on the Ancient and retrieve her before the fall of the plate, ensuring both her safety and that of the Turks themselves by dealing with the traitor, the agent formerly known as Cissnei. She wouldn't forgive the woman who spurned her superior's generosity by joining AVALANCHE, but the job came first.

"Sir, I have eyes on the Ancient," Elena reported into the radio in her ear. "She's currently entering into a tailor's shop with the traitor, presumably to change her clothing. How should I act?"

 _"Bring her to the extraction point,"_ Tseng ordered. _"The president won't delay retrieving her any further, but he won't drop the plate until we've done so. Use whatever means you have to, but I want her unharmed."_

"What of the traitor?" Elena asked.

 _"… Deal with her as you see fit,"_ he said, after a minor pause. _"But your priority is securing the Ancient, don't forget that."_

"Understood," she said. Once her superior was off the line, she waited for the traitor and the Ancient to leave the store and run towards the park. She radioed Rude, who was already there and waiting for her, to get ready. "The Ancient is approaching with the traitor; make sure to secure the former, I'll deal with the latter."


	8. Chapter 8

**This is going to be intense. What happened now...**

 **Kaze: Thank you. Getting rid of Corneo by the hand of his pet is quick and painless.**

 **Enjoy the Chapter!**

Crimson and Aerith, having sent Cloud ahead to guard the support pillar while they changed, had just exited the entrance to the Wall Market from the Sector 6 Playground when they found the entrance to Sector 7 blocked by an imposing figure.

He stood taller than the both of them, with a broad build and a shaved head. His suit was orderly and the gloves on his hands were thicker than the usual set, with a pair of knuckle-dusters adorning them. He didn't say anything, instead adopting a fighting pose, fists raised and feet tensed to rush forward.

Crimson came to a stop, hands raised in a placating manner, with Aerith behind her. "Rude!" she said. "You have to stop Reno and the others! If you drop the plate, you'll—"

Rude crossed the space between them in the span of a blink, fist chambered. The punch was fired like a shotgun as she raised her arms in time to defend herself. It still knocked her back like a rocket, sending her flying into the slide of the park hard enough to dent the rusted metal and force a pained cry out of her mouth.

"Crimson!" Aerith cried out, pulling out her staff and swinging it, only for Rude to catch it and hold fast to it. He brought his other elbow down on it to force it out of her hands and then tossed the staff away, leaving her defenseless. Aerith took several steps back, her heart racing in fear as he reached for her, only for a spinning blur of steel to make him pull back or risk losing the arm.

Rude jumped back as the giant shuriken whirled back at the tug of a steel wire attached to it. It cleaved through the air like a saw before slapping its shaft into the hand of the thrower. He turned towards the downed former Turk, slowly rising back onto her feet.

 _"I guess… we're not talking… this out then,"_ she wheezed, cradling her side as she held her Rekka in front of her like a blade. Even breathing hurt for her, and her legs wanted to buckle under her own weight after that attack. _"You still… hit like a truck."_

He took his fighting stance again and then ran forward again like a silent train.

Crimson had her Sense activated and could see the path he was traveling this time, so she wasn't taken off-guard like before. It let her roll out of the way as his shoulder tackle plowed through the rusted slide. She brought her hand up and called forth a serpentine bolt of lightning to strike him in the back.

Rude grunted as tongues of electricity slinked over his body, bringing him to his knees before they slithered into the ground and faded. His muscles contracted for a moment, slowing him down as he stood up, but it faded. He looked up to see that Crimson was back on her feet, swaddled in a pale green light.

Aerith had retrieved her staff and was casting the Cure spell, taking away Crimson's pain and allowing her to fight again.

"Rude," Crimson said again. "We don't have time for this. Are you really going to help Heidegger kill everyone in the slums?"

"…That the job," he finally said. There was no reasoning with him, it seemed. He would do his job, even if that meant allowing thousands to die.

Crimson raised her hand with the materia on the bangle and prepared to fire another bolt when a metal canister landed between Aerith and Crimson, drawing their attention. It exploded in a plume of lavender smoke, the sickening sweet scent making her lethargic. Before it could knock her out, Crimson used a low-powered Bolt from her Thunder Materia to keep her alert.

It was all that saved her as a blonde-haired Turk broke through the veil of smoke obscuring her vision. She had her leg thrust out, trying to land a jump kick. Crimson caught her leg and added to her momentum, sending her flying into a junk pile, before looking for her companion. "Aerith, are you okay?"

There was no response, and when the smoke thinned Aerith was nowhere in sight. Neither was Rude. The realization dawned on her that Rude had taken her away and she swore under breath, turning her attention back to the newcomer.

"Where did you take her?" Crimson demanded as she watched the new girl pull herself out.

"I'd be more worried about myself than the Ancient, if I were you," the blonde said. "Tseng wanted her unharmed, but you're going to die here—AGGHHH!"

Crimson hit her with a Bolt spell to cut her off, not wanting to waste anymore time. Once she was sure that paralysis had set in, she made her way towards the entrance to the Sector 7 slums. There was nothing she could do for Aerith, but she probably wouldn't be harmed and they could look into her later.

Right now she had to focus on what she could do, and get to the pillar in hopes of delaying the fall.

 **[-oOo-]**

Cloud couldn't help but think that Crimson had underestimated the force that would be sent out to destroy the support pillar as he cut down another of the drones that their science department had built.

Still, he felt a bit guilty as he smashed the backside of his sword into one of the propeller-driven robots and sent it crashing into the pillar. If he had known that Shinra would go this far to get rid of AVALANCHE after he had joined, maybe he wouldn't have been so eager to help them in bombing the reactors. At the very least, he would have thought more about the consequences.

He had memories of some of their operations as a part of SOLDIER, like the Wutai and Genesis Wars. He knew they could be outright ruthless in accomplishing their goal and dealing with their enemies. Yet, he was so assured of himself and revenge-driven that he didn't consider the people who would be caught up in the crossfire.

Cloud finished climbing the winding stairway up to the top of the pillar and caught sight of three in-bound helicopters. They were equipped with machine guns that were trained on where he stood, preparing for a strafing run. He guessed he caused enough chaos to warrant them.

Mako energy wreathed him in its hue as he tapped into the power for his newest Limit Break. He condensed it on his sword, until it shone with radiance. Then he unleashed it with a mighty swing. "BLADE BEAM!"

The wave of power flew in the shape of a crescent, cleaving through the stale air and towards the helicopters. It smashed through the one in the center, rupturing the fuel tank and leading to the entire thing exploding. The shockwave of the explosion caused the other two to tremble and shake, forcing their pilots to readjust before firing at him.

Cloud blocked them with his Buster Sword in front of him like a shield, luring them in closer. Once they were in range, he broke off and ran to the rear side of the platform. He bounced off the rail, back towards the pillar, and then sprung out towards the helicopter that approached from the right.

The pilot didn't have time to scream for more than a second before the Buster Sword pierced the windshield and straight through him, staining it with more blood. The copter began to spin out of control as the SOLDIER withdrew the blade and leapt off the front of it. It crashed to the ground below in a fiery explosion that sent debris flying around, the corpse left in the burning wreck slowly turning to ashes.

Cloud landed back onto the platform with a roll and blocked the incoming gunfire from the remaining helicopter's strafe. It broke off the assault as it passed by over his head, and the red-haired Turk from Aerith's Church landed with a package in his hand as the helicopter flew away. Cloud readied his sword as the Turk set aside the package and drew a baton.

"Is this any way to thank us for picking you up out of the wasteland?" he asked, tapping the baton's edge against his shoulder. "Really now, I just wanted to take it easy and then you show up and cause such a mess…."

Cloud rushed in and swung his blade with his enhanced strength. Each slash could cut through steel with ease, shearing it apart from the weight and power. But they couldn't hit the Turk, who dodged steadily with as boring a look as one could manage.

 _He's dodging just like Crimson did,_ Cloud realized. So it seemed that he was as skilled as her, if not even more. But, unlike her, he allowed himself to be backed into the railing, creating an opening that Cloud planned to take advantage of by thrusting his blade out.

Reno dodged his thrust by shifting his right leg out at a forty-five degree angle and using it as a pivot point, leaving him time to bring his Electro-Mag Rod around. The tip crackled with lightning and nailed Cloud at the base of his skull. Electricity surged through it and forced a pained groan from him as his body began to spasm.

"Meat-heads, all brawn and no brains," he heard Reno say before he lazily kicked the SOLDIER over the edge of the railing.

Cloud fell down until he hit the ground with a thunderous crash. If he had been a lesser man, he wouldn't have survived. But, between the impact and the paralysis, he wasn't going to be moving for a bit. And then he saw the helicopter that got away coming back around for a final strafing run while he couldn't move.

The barrel of its gun whirled and bullets began to draw a path towards him, smashing into the ground in a straight line. It came to an abrupt end when a bolt of serpentine lightning snaked from the stairs above and sent the entire helicopter into a right spiral, causing it to crash out of sight.

"Get to the exit once the paralysis wears off!" he heard Crimson yell from above, but he couldn't turn his head to see. "I'll take care of the rest!"

He wanted to say that he wouldn't run away, but the paralysis was messing with his breathing and his voice. With no other choice, he waited with gritted teeth for it to wear off as he heard the sound of battle coming from above.

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson panted as she swung her Rekka like a blade, only for it to be intercepted by Reno's baton at the neck.

She didn't want to fight Reno. Out of all the Turks, she didn't want to deal with him the most. Behind that lazy and carefree attitude was a very efficient and very professional assassin.

"It was stupid of you to come here," Reno said, shaking his head. "You had a chance to be free, yet you wasted it by working with AVALANCHE."

She actually took more offense to that than anything else. "Don't you dare put me into the same group with them! You think I would have gone along with them bombing a reactor and hurting so many people? You know me better than that."

"Then what are you doing here?" He punctuated the question by thrusting his foot out and catching her in the ribs, forcing her to stagger backwards. "Why did you come back?"

"Shinra attacked us at Gongaga and then ordered a missile strike that destroyed the village!" Crimson said as she avoided another hit and swept his legs from beneath him. She moved to stab him in the thigh, crippling his movements.

Reno curled up into a back-roll and sprung back up on his feet before she could land it. "Must've been Heidegger acting on his own! You know what he's like!"

"And here you are, about to kill thousands following his orders!" She swung her leg around to kick him in the head this time, leaving him to dodge with a crouch and counter thrust. She leapt over him, landing in a crouch herself, and then raised her blade to catch the baton as it went for her skull at a downwards arc. "The very same people we should be protecting!"

"It's our job!" Reno claimed. "Turks work for the company's interests. Nothing more!"

He shifted the baton down so her blade was touching the head and pressed a button on his insulated handle with his thumb. Electricity surged through it, jumping to her Rekka and then her body. The voltage wasn't enough to knock her out like that, but it staggered her long enough for him to close in and slam the bottom of it into her shoulder, dislocating it.

Without her dominant hand, Crimson was at too much of a disadvantage. She leapt back and fired a Bolt spell. It snaked through the air towards Reno, who used his Electro-Mag Rod like a lightning rod to catch it.

"Return to sender!" Then he actually sent it back toward her, slamming her with her own spell. It sent her flying into the pillar at the center of the platform, adding to the damage she had suffered, and crippling her with pain. Reno finished it by casting a final spell, courtesy of an exclusive materia he could use.

A prism of light engulfed Crimson, sealing her inside before she could rise to her feet. She slammed her good hand against it, but there was no give on her side. The Pyramid spell could only be broken from the outside. She was trapped, unable to do anything else. "No!"

"You should have known one way or another, this support was coming down," Reno said, putting his weapon away. "Even if it wasn't me, the President and Heidegger weren't going to stop."

"I had to try," she said, panting. "I couldn't sit by and do nothing. If I bought enough time for even one more person than if it went unhindered, then it was worth it."

"You were always too soft for the job," Reno mused, before looking at his watch. He pulled out a signal flare and pulled the trigger, casting a bright light in the air. At that, a smaller aircraft emerged from nearby and closed in on them. Inside of it was the blonde-haired Turk that Crimson had knocked out before.

"At least you'll die with your convictions intact, I suppose," Reno said as the aircraft dropped a rope ladder for him to cling to. He climbed onto it and gave her a two-finger wave. "Good-bye, Cissnei."

She watched him leave and felt despair, despite telling him that it would be worth it. Death wasn't something she was looking forward to experiencing, and she could only hope that Cloud managed to get away. That way, she could at least know she had protected Zack's legacy.

"Crimson!" she heard, and her head snapped up to see that Cloud had stupidly climbed back up the winding stairway. There was no way he would be able to get out now.

"I told you to get out of here!" she yelled, her eyes starting to tear up. She had failed Zack. "You weren't supposed to die with me!"

"Neither of us is dying here," Cloud said as he brought his sword around to cut through the Pyramid spell. He slung the sword onto his back and then helped her to her feet. "And a SOLDIER doesn't leave someone behind."

Crimson still felt pain, so she could barely stand even with his help. But she still had to try and stop the bomb before it was too late. However, to her dismay, it was a bomb that couldn't be moved once activated or disarmed without the President's code. "I can't stop it."

"We've done all we've can then," Cloud said. He eyed her condition and noted she wasn't in any shape to run. With only seconds on the clock, he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder before leaping onto the railing.

He grasped tightly one of the cables and then slammed his foot down on the section of the railing where it was hooked. With his enhanced strength, he broke where the hook was attached and freed the cable to move. He leapt with it in hand and they went swinging forward.

They weren't even halfway across when the explosion went off. The flaring orange and thunderous roar of force and heat shook the line as they swung for dear life. The death kneel of the support pillar giving out was followed by the sound of metal grating against metal as the plate above was torn free of its perch and began to descend upon the slums below. The shadow it cast grew steadily, eclipsing everything beneath it.

The line snapped with a jerk, sending them both towards the ground in a slope towards the exit. Cloud shifted and wrapped her in his arms as tightly as possible, landing in a roll and soaking up as much of the impact as he could while they narrowly managed to get past the giant doors separating Sector 7 from Sector 6. There was a massive dust cloud that followed them as the plate finished its descent, and then there was nothing but silence.

Crimson tried to rise, but her body was in so much pain that she couldn't move. Even staying awake was too hard. She barely took notice of the people around her and Cloud as her vision tunneled and her consciousness finally gave out.

 **[-oOo-]**

Reeve Tuesti stood at the window, along with several other employees at the Shinra Headquarters, staring out at the smoke wafting from where the plate had fallen down.

 _"They really did it,"_ he murmured to himself, low enough that no one else could hear him over their confused ramblings. He had been there when the President and Heidegger came up with this insane plan, but… but to go this far?

There wouldn't be anyone left alive in what was once Sector 7. Not if they were crushed beneath that plate or on it. Even if a few managed to get out, their homes and friends and families would be gone.

Heidegger and the President had gone too far this time. They had to pay.


	9. Chapter 9

**Another chapter have arrived!**

 **Enjoy!**

The pain was mostly gone by the time Crimson woke up.

She found herself in a comfortable bed in Aerith's home in Sector 5, not really sure how she got there. She sat up, making the mattress groan and saw Cloud standing in the corner with his back against the wall. The Buster Sword was perched next to him, along with her Rekka.

"You okay now?" he asked. "We fell a long way, and I wasn't sure you'd recover despite being healed."

Crimson nodded, bringing her hand up to massage her forehead. "What happened?"

"The plate fell," he said softly, regret in his voice. "It was impossible to get everyone out of the Sector before it happened, but Tifa and the others tried. A few hundred made it out."

"I see…." She supposed that she should have been happy that not everyone died, but it didn't change the fact that so many had.

After giving her a moment to compose her thoughts, Cloud added, "I didn't see Aerith around, and her mother was rather upset. She let us stay in hopes of getting an answer."

"Shinra took her before the plate was dropped," she told him, sitting upright and planting her feet on the floor. "The new girl with the Turks said she would be safer than us, so she's probably fine for the moment."

"I see," he said. "I'll tell her then."

The door to the room opened with a groan of the hinges before he could move, and Tifa entered into the room. Her brown eyes met with Crimson's, which turned into a glare. She returned the glare for only a moment and then turned to Cloud. "The others have left for Kalm now."

"I thought they'd be the most interested in paying Shinra back for what happened," Cloud said.

A tired sigh slipped out of Tifa's mouth, and her long hair wavered as she shook her head. "Shinra's blaming the fall of the plate on AVALANCHE. Even the people we helped get out blame us too."

"As they should," Crimson spat out, rising to her feet. "If you hadn't bombed the reactors, it wouldn't have escalated to this point!"

Tifa scowled. She marched up to the former Turk and stood face-to-face with her. "No, you don't get to try and pin this on us! It was your boss that made the call, and your friends that blew up the support pillar!"

Crimson began trembling with rage at the truth of the words. She had been friends with Reno and Rude, yet they fought with one another. They killed thousands of their own people on the order of their superiors, and they were going to kill her along with them for trying to stop it. "It wouldn't have come to that if—"

"If you two are going to argue, I'm leaving." Cloud cut in as he pulled himself off the wall and grabbed his sword.

"Where are you going?" Crimson asked.

"To save Aerith," he said. "Shinra took her, right? Then she's probably at the headquarters. While I'm there, I'll kill the President as well."

The sheer scope of what he said left Crimson bordering on speechless as her mind caught up. "…You can't be serious. That's suicide."

"We'll see," he said, walking towards the door.

"Hold on Cloud!" Tifa grabbed his shoulder before he could leave out. "You can't just run in there and expect to actually do anything. As strong as you are, you're only one person."

"Then stop fighting each other and help me!" he demanded heatedly. The level of intensity caught them both off-guard and knocked them aback. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he turned to face them both. "Crimson, you were right. Our actions have consequences, and people suffered because of it. Maybe if we hadn't gone to bomb the reactors they never would have gone this far. That's on our shoulders."

"It's not like we expected this to happen…." Tifa leaned against the wall and then sank down, curling her legs inwards. "Me, and the others in AVALANCHE, we were ready to pay the price if we were caught, but… the people in the slums didn't deserve to die for it. They weren't bad people. A lot of them simply didn't have anywhere else to go because of how expensive it was to live on the surface of the plates."

Cloud nodded his head. "Their lives, and those of the people hurt in the bombings and fallout are our responsibility. But Shinra could have chosen a dozen different ways to attack AVALANCHE. In the end, they decided to simply kill everyone in the sector. Crimson, your former colleagues were the ones who carried it out of their own free will, even if they were ordered—that's a fact that you're going to have to accept."

"I know that, but…" Crimson sat back down on the bed and covered her eyes to hide the stinging tears. "I tried to stop them. I tried to convince them not to do it, but they did it anyway. Do you know what that feels like—to know that your friends were murderers, and that you were no better?"

"We all have blood on our hands," Cloud continued. "Innocent people are now dead, by the hands of those that were supposed to be protecting them and making their lives better. Sitting here and arguing over who was right and wrong isn't going to help anyone. Right now, we need to do what we can, and that means getting back Aerith and making the one who ordered it pay for it."

Crimson wiped away her tears. "You still can't just walk into the headquarters of the company and expect to come out. The elevators are secured and can be cut off remotely, plus they can always take the President and Aerith and run away."

"That's why, if you have some other plan that can get me in without being spotted, I'll go along with it," he said. "But I can't leave her in their hands, nor can I let what the President has done go."

"…I'm not letting you go alone," Crimson said, after a pause. "I'll reach out to my contact in Shinra. If he can get us inside, we can search for her there."

"I'm going with you too," Tifa declared, rising onto her feet. "Having numbers in enemy territory is best, and Aerith came to help me when you thought I was in trouble. I have to return the favor."

He consented with a nod, and the three set things into motion.

 **[-oOo-]**

Roughly an hour later, the trio stood at the rear entrance of the building while dressed in the infantrymen uniforms, courtesy of Kunsel.

The second-class SOLDIER was present as well, still dressed in his clothes from their earlier meeting. Crimson had informed him of what transpired and how Zack's girlfriend had been taken. He had met her before, wanting to repair her wagon while Zack was away, only to be turned down.

"This should get you to the 66th floor," he said, presenting a card for the elevator to Crimson. "It was the best I could do on short notice."

"I'm honestly surprised you managed to get this high a level of clearance," Crimson admitted.

He shrugged. "Well, it's not like the Mayor needs it in the first place."

"Won't the Mayor know something like that's gone missing?" Tifa asked. "How did you even get it?"

"Drugged his coffee," Kunsel said bluntly, adjusting his shades with his finger tips. "The man's nothing more than a figurehead, which is why the card only goes up to that floor. The 67th floor doesn't have an elevator entrance since that's where the prison and laboratory are, so they'll likely be holding her there. My bet is on the laboratory."

"Why's that?" Cloud asked. His inherited Buster Sword was in his arms, bundled in cloth to cover it from view. It was too recognizable to be seen in headquarters otherwise.

"It's the most likely scenario," he explained. "I've checked with a guy who works as a guard in the cells, but there's no one there. And Hojo has been holed up in there since the plate fell, only coming out for a meeting. He'll likely be your best bet in getting there."

Crimson frowned. He was the one she was looking for, the one who captured and experimented on Zack and Cloud after what happened in Nibelheim. If they could corner him, then maybe they could get answers about Cloud's treatment as well as save Aerith. "Do you know when the meeting will be over?"

Kunsel shook his head. "No clue. But, he's not the type to be held up long and kept away from his research. You'd best get a move on. I'll work on setting things up for the getaway and meet you back out here."

"Thanks again," Crimson told him, and then joined the others in entering the building.

They went unmolested by the staff as they entered into the main section and climbed up the stairs. Because they were disguised as rank-and-file infantrymen, with their heads covered by the standard helmets commonly worn, it was presumed they were heading to the floor where they underwent training. They didn't have the standard weaponry, but those were under better security and they didn't need them to begin with.

Once they were inside of the elevator and it began to move upwards, Cloud shifted around uncomfortably in his gear. "I don't see how anyone could get used to this."

Crimson let the irony of that statement go in lieu of reaching into her pocket and pulling out some of the spare materias that she had taken during her supply run prior to the second reactor. "Take these. We might need them on the way out."

Cloud and Tifa took and equipped them as the elevator came to a stop on the 66th floor. They stepped out of the elevator and found themselves outside of the meeting hall, as the panel indicated it was still in effect. Crimson fiddled with the control panel to bring up an audio-less video feed of everyone there.

"The President, Reeve, Palmer, Heidegger, Scarlet, and Hojo are all present," she said. "It looks like they're talking about something important, but I can't get a decent view of their faces to read their lips."

Cloud's grip on the sword tightened in his arms. "If we move quickly enough, I can probably take them out now."

Crimson shook her head. "Maybe you could, but we haven't found Aerith yet and I guarantee that Heidegger and Scarlet are armed. We need to secure her before we can even think of doing that."

"Not to mention that the President carries some kind of defensive materia on him," Tifa reminded him. "I wouldn't put it past them all having something like that."

The SOLDIER's grip remained firm on his weapon for a moment longer, and then it went slack. "To the next floor then."

They went around to the right of the meeting hall and up the stairwell, reaching the next floor. The entrance to the Science Research Division was secured behind thick steel, reinforced to the extent that even Cloud's brute force wouldn't suffice. It had to be in order to hold in the monsters Hojo made.

"We need a scientist's card to get past this part," Crimson stated. Then she heard the sound of the door at the stairwell opening and grabbed the other two, dragging them around the corner towards the direction of the cells.

A rather slender man with round glasses walked hunched over, yet there was a sense of purpose in the way he did so. He was middle-aged, and was adorned in a white lab-coat. There was a small smile on his face that pushed aside the premature wrinkles and sent a shiver down Crimson's spine.

"That's Hojo," Crimson said. "It seems the meeting is over now. Get ready to move."

They waited for the reinforced door to slide open and then charged, with Crimson grabbing Hojo and covering his mouth to muffle his startled yelp as the others filed in before the door could close. The man struggled, but he was just a frail and middle-aged man against a former covert operative, a martial artist, and a super-soldier born of his experimentation. Crimson slammed him against the containment case, stirring a red beast of some kind with 'XIII' tattooed on it and a flaming tail.

"Who are you?" the scientist demanded. "What are you doing?"

Crimson restrained his arm behind his back and then twisted his wrist, earning a pained cry from the man. "We'll be asking the questions: starting with the location of the one you call an Ancient?"

"AHHH!" came from behind her before she could get an answer.

Crimson turned her head to see that Cloud was on the ground and curled into himself. His helmet was removed, and he was clutching his head in agony. She asked Tifa, who was kneeled over him and trying to calm him, "What happened?"

"He looked into this holding tank labeled 'Jenova' and just started screaming," she said.

"Sephiroth's mother," he said weakly. "They brought it from the reactor… and it's still moving…."

"His mother?" Tifa said incredulously, looking into the tank. How that thing could be anyone's mother was beyond her, even for a monster like the man who destroyed her town. "It's missing its head."

"Hehehehe…" The mad scientist began to chuckle darkly upon seeing the reaction, a look of realization now in his eyes. "I see, I see. You're the failed experiment for my Reunion Theory, one of the survivors from Nibelheim, was it?"

"One?" Tifa repeated heatedly. "There were others?"

"The others were successes, but I remember that this one went catatonic because he was too weak in mind to handle the experimentation and infusion, while the other was tainted by the SOLIDER treatment and training. I had thought you both had been eliminated, but it seems that one of you manage to slink away. It figures Heidegger was so incompetent that he couldn't get the job done, even with half of his forces—AHHHH!"

Crimson had twisted his wrist, turning the madman's ramble into a scream of pain. She hadn't taken the insult to Cloud and Zack well, and they were pressed for time. "I'm hearing a lot of nonsense and nothing that I want. Where is the girl?"

"On the second floor," they heard from inside the containment unit. It was the red beast. "The madman spoke of breeding us, and I can smell her scent in the container above this one."

"… Okay, that's new," Tifa admitted, after a pause. And then a look of disgust crossed her face as she registered what it said, that the scientist had plans to breed them. While only Crimson's lips could be seen with her helmet on, she had a matching expression and fought down the urge to not break his arm entirely before getting answers to her questions.

Hojo had a different reaction, his brows raised. "I did notice that your vocal cords were different than I expected from a normal beast, but never did I think that they would let you use human speech, nor did I think you had the mental capacity to do so. It'll be intriguing to learn how that is possible."

"We shall see how intriguing it is when I tear out your throat for taking me from my home and cutting me open," the red creature said, stalking towards the edge of the containment glass and raking its claws where Hojo's face was. Only the fact that it was durable enough to prevent them from doing any damage kept him alive. "Have you no shame for your actions and the pain they cause?"

"I am a scientist, and life is nothing but a series of experimentation in the end," Hojo said, unrepentantly at that. "Besides, I'm not the one who's responsible for taking you from your home, nor was I the one who procured those test subjects from Nibelheim. It was the company and the Tu—AHHHH! "

Crimson twisted his wrist to silence him before he could say anything more and jerked Hojo towards the lift. She turned her head to Tifa and said, "I'll take him to get Aerith out of her container. See about things down here."

They got onto the lift and were halfway up when Hojo broke the silence. "You were one of them, weren't you? A Turk?"

She said nothing. Not that she needed to. Hojo was a madman, but he wasn't an idiot. The timing of when she silenced him would have been more than enough evidence.

"I take it that your companions don't know the part you played in their experiences, do they?" he asked. "I wonder how they would respond, knowing that? Knowing that you and your associates played a part in making their lives miserable?"

Crimson could imagine Cloud being angry with her, and the thought made her sick to her stomach. Their neighbors and friends that survived being murdered were taken and given over to this madman by the Turks. Even if she wasn't personally responsible, and it did lead to a mass desertion by Veld and the others, it was still something she had tolerated until Zack's escape. Like Cloud had said, they all had blood on their hands….

Only hers had long since been stained in it, while theirs were still fresh.

"Move." She forced him out of the lift when it opened and towards the containment unit housing Aerith. Pulling out her Rekka, she held it at the back of his neck and made her demand. "Open it."

He mumbled under his breath as he did so, freeing the Ancient from captivity.

"Thanks for coming after me," Aerith said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I was a bit worried."

"It was my fault you got taken, but now we need to get out before something else happens…." Crimson trailed off as she heard the elevator connecting the chamber start up. She pointed her weapon at Hojo again and demanded an answer. "What did you do?"

"You told me to open it, so I did," he said with a smirk. "I opened all of them."

No sooner than he said that did what could only be described as a monster emerged from within the cage. It was a grotesque monstrosity of some kind, deformed by twisted experiments of the mad scientist. It bellowed with the enlarged mouth on its shoulder and slowly stalked forward.

"I give you sample H0512 and its buds," Hojo said as they backed away. "Now, I must bid you farewell. I feel this is no longer a safe place for me to conduct my research."

Seeing that he was fleeing, Crimson wanted to go after him. She still had questions about Cloud's treatment. But her priorities shifted as the abomination lunged for the pair of women, joined by its three buds.

They had a fight on their hands.


	10. Chapter 10

**Another chapter is here.**

 **Kaze: It's good to see that you interest in this story so far.**

 **blarg7865: Read and see.**

 **Neal: Thank you.**

 **Enjoy!**

Cloud leaned carefully against the wall next to the container that the red creature was trapped in, nursing a migraine.

His head felt like a dagger was stabbing into it over and over. It was one of the worse reactions he had suffered through to this date, caused by that… thing they dragged from the reactor in Nibelheim. That thing was at least partially responsible for Sephiroth's insanity, and Cloud remembered very clearly that the head had fallen into the reactor along with Sephiroth. So how did it appear to be moving when he looked at it?

"What's your name?" he heard Tifa ask the creature inside of the container. She was crouched down in front of it, meeting his good eye with her own. "How long have you been here?"

"I was taken from Cosmo Canyon several years ago," he said. There was a tremor of bitterness in his voice, as well as concern and shame. "It was unbefitting of a warrior that I allowed myself to be taken so easily, thus I have no right to my birth name until I return. You may call me Red XIII, as the madman labeled me."

Tifa tilted her to the side slightly. "Your voice sounds rather mature."

"By your years, I would be around my late 40s," Red XIII explained. "In relative terms, my kind has a longevity that spans centuries, thus I would be presumably just under your ages. Admittedly, the last few years I have been here have been a blur from the experimentation's and pain."

"I can relate," Cloud said honestly, despite his expression being as unmoving as stone. "But at least your home wasn't razed to the ground in the end."

Tifa glanced over towards him, allowing a small frown to appear on her face. It quickly turned into a facsimile of a real smile as she tried to reassure Red XIII. "Well, we'll get you out soon. Then you can go back to your home. I heard from Barret that it's lovely."

Red XIII made a low noise and then shifted his head towards the ceiling. His ears twitched, and then he moved towards the sealed door of the containment cage as it slid open. Red XIII jumped out of it and onto the steel floor, circling around and then stretching, his tail rising up in the air and the flame on it burning brighter for a moment.

"Much better," he said, facing the two of them. "For too long did he have me caged. You have my thanks."

"It was our pleasure," Tifa said, an earnest and soft smile on her face. She opened her mouth to say more, but the door to the containment cage then shut abruptly, and a hatch in the center of it opened. Machinery groaned as it started up, gears turning as something rose from opening.

It was an abomination, no two ways about it. Its body was a mishmash of different limbs, the twitching left arm was thicker than the right, like it belonged on something at least twice its size and height. The left arm itself was thin, with claws at the end of long and bony fingers like you would find on a bird.

Its main head reminded Cloud of a squid, while the second one on the right shoulder looked like a giant tomato with pointed teeth that actually moved back and forth. And there were three orange bug-like things that clung to it, each one with an eye that darted around to take in their surroundings. Not to mention those legs.

Red XIII bristled at it and gave a low snarl, while the other two took a step back. They almost got into fighting poses, with Cloud reaching for his sword's handle and Tifa's fists half-raised. It gave a low, guttural shriek at them before continuing its ascent upwards as an entrance appeared at the top of the container.

"Shit!" Cloud swore as he went over to the lift and pressed the button to return it back to their floor. It was slow going. "Crimson and Aerith are up there."

"That creature is fairly strong," Red XIII warned. "The young ladies will not fair so well alone."

"Will you help us?" Tifa asked.

Red XIII nodded. "It is only fair that aid rendered be returned. By chance, do you have any materia that I may use? The last time that madman sought to test me against the creature, my claws and fangs did little to hinder it, and my right eye was the price."

"Take one of mine." Cloud removed one that Crimson had given him from a slot on his Buster Sword and tossed it to their newest companion. To his mild surprise Red XIII caught it deftly with his mouth and then threw it back up in the air, landing on a headdress he wore as it came back down and fitting perfectly into a slot.

Red XIII's back then arched upwards as he stuck his nose in the air to catch a number of scents. "Blood has been spilled. The madman's scent grows distant. It seems your companions on the floor above are under attack, and the one responsible for my imprisonment has fled. We'd best hurry."

The lift finally reached down and the three climbed on-board it. The platform rose to the floor where the others were and they found the girls were trapped in a corner, Aerith unconscious against the wall while Crimson stood in her defense. The former Turk was panting, her Rekka held out in front of her while blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

The small bug-like creatures bounded ahead of the abomination, throwing themselves at her violently. The Rekka was swung to intercept them, knocking aside two and skewering a third with a spray of greenish fluid. But the two that were knocked aside curled into balls and bounced off the walls at an angle as they sped towards Crimson a second time.

The first one she blocked admirably, but the second one slammed into her weapon-bearing hand. It sent her giant shuriken careening out of her grasp. Cloud had seen enough.

He ran in with a battle-cry, drawing the abomination's attention before it could move in and attack her as well. Tifa tapped into the power of the Ice Materia that she had been given rather than immediately charge in like he did. It called forth frigid cold, gathering and condensing in the palm of her hand.

The mass of white ice and blue frost was fired like a cannonball and slammed into a bud that was getting ready to attack Crimson again, freezing it solid. Crimson kicked it aside and then called forth a serpentine bolt of lightning at the remaining bud. The bolt tore through it like a lance, piercing its eye and exploding it from the inside out. The husk fell onto the ground lifelessly as Crimson wavered on her feet and then collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

"Shit," Tifa swore as she ran over and felt both of their pulses. Aerith's heartbeat had slowed to a crawl, while Crimson's had an irregular rhythm. She prioritized getting Aerith back onto her feet first and pulled a Phoenix Down from a pouch to press against the flower girl's chest.

It shone with a radiant and warm light, spreading over her body and healing her. Her eyes fluttered open, and she gave a shuddering breath as she came to. Aerith slowly rose to her feet, clutching her head as she did so.

"Are you okay now?" Tifa asked, fishing through her pouch for another one to use on Cloud's companion. True enough, they weren't on remotely good terms. In fact, they hated one another. But this was a battle that everyone needed to be active for.

She found the soft feather and then pressed into the former Turk's back, letting it do its magic. "What happened?"

"I was…." Aerith shook her head to clear it of the haze she was in. "The last thing I remembered was that thing coming out and breathing this acrid gas. Poison, I think. We both inhaled some of it and then those things attacked."

"Well, they're dead now," Tifa told her, looking to see that they were all lifeless on the steel floor as the former Turk stirred.

"You only bought us time," Crimson corrected as she rose to her knees, feeling the sluggishness of awakening after being knocked out. She reached down and grabbed her favored weapon. "The creature can reanimate those things somehow, patch their wounds and get them back to being as good as new. I killed them twice now before the big one batted us aside like flies."

While the girls pulled themselves together, Cloud gritted his teeth as Red XIII's prior words proved true. It was a lot more resistant to physical attacks than he hoped. The skin was thicker and tougher than it looked, and the corded muscles beneath it managed keep up with his strength.

It fended off his sword with its massive left arm, knocking the swipe aside, and dragged its claws across his chest and the Infantrymen outfit he wore. His mako-infused body weathered the attack much better, stopping it from penetrating deep enough to draw blood. But his guard was down as he staggered, and the abomination brought its thick arm around again to deliver a punch that sent him sailing backwards through the air.

Red XIII jumped over Cloud's aerial form. The Fire Materia was shining on his headdress as a throbbing sphere of flames spiraled in his opened maw, radiating heat. The spell flew forward and slammed into the creature's face, causing it to stagger backwards while he lunged for it.

Whether by pure-luck or chance, it managed to catch him with its clawed appendage and flung him in the same direction that Cloud had traveled. They both ended up crashing into one another, giving it time to recover. It pointed towards where the girls were and gestured.

The three buds recovered at that. Flesh mended as though they were never injured, and the ice coating the frozen one thawed. Filled with life once more, they began bouncing up and down again.

"I need a weapon," Aerith said. "I can fight too, but I need some kind of staff or rod that I can use."

Tifa nodded once and looked to the steel pipe attached to the wall next to them. She wrapped her hands around it, and braced a foot against the wall the pipe was joined with. Then she pulled and tore it off, giving her a five-foot metal rod that she handed to Aerith. "Will this do?"

"Yes, that should be good enough," she said, taking up arms once more as the bug-like creatures came after them.

Tifa moved to lure one away, slipping into a slide as it ended up sailing over her head and then digging its legs into the wall to grab hold and stare at her. Bringing her hand up, she launched another blast of ice. It jumped in time, leaving a layer of rime where it once was.

Tifa then twisted her body as it landed on the ground in a ball and then bounced upwards to try and take off her head. It missed her by inches, ricocheted off the ceiling, and then back to the ground to try again. She created a bulwark of ice that intercepted it as she ducked down this time, and the top of the construct shattered in a plume of mist and frost.

The annoying pest careened to a stop long enough to re-orientate itself, and Tifa used the opportunity to hit it with another shimmering sphere that shed white mist and blue frost. It struck head-on and froze it in place as rime coated it. She then followed it up by punting it across the room.

Crimson used her Sense-induced state of hyper-awareness to predict the path the overgrown insect that went after her was taking, avoiding it as best as she could. The poison before had did more than sap her strength, it ate at her mind. Now cured of it upon being awoken by the Phoenix Down, she managed to fling her Rekka and intercept it mid-flight, impaling it and then nailing it to the ground.

The last of the three went after Aerith. The healer let the metal slide in her grasp as she brought her makeshift weapon around to hit the remaining one like a baseball. There was a loud sound as the pipe crushed the exoskeleton and sent it flying backwards, until it hit the containment cage she has been trapped inside of.

By chance, all three of them were close enough to each other that they could be hit with the same spells. Crimson and Tifa exploited that, a sphere of pure cold to leave them frozen stiff followed by a forking tongue of lightning to shattered them to bits. They weren't sure if it would keep them down for long, but it at least bought them time to focus on the main abomination.

Tifa exploded into motion as a fiery light engulfed her. Energy thrummed in her body in the form of a Limit Break, and she unleashed it as her training taught her. Reinforcing her fist, she landed three vicious blows upon its unprotected back.

The abomination turned around and swiped at her, but she ducked down and then around to get on the other side of it. It twisted its body to keep her in its sight, bringing the clawed arm around to dig into her tender flesh. It was met with a spinning saw as the Rekka cleaved through it and was then pulled back by its owner using a steel wire.

It warbled at the loss of a limb and then opened its second mouth, getting ready to breathe its toxic breath again. It came out as an acrid cloud that billowed forward to encompass them. With only limited space, it would easily engulf them all.

"Not this time!" Red XIII launched a Fire spell into the cloud. It burned violently and transformed into an explosion that rocked both them and the creature back.

"Healing Wind!" announced Aerith as she stood behind them. A silvery zephyr rolled in from seemingly nowhere behind the melee fighters. It wreathed them in its healing light, soothing their aches and wounds from the fight so far.

"My turn!" Crimson said, holding her Rekka above her head and spinning it. "Lucky Stars!"

A golden light wreathed her weapon and she tossed it in the air. The light sprinkled down from above in what looked to be a shower of small stars. The particles of light coated their weapons as she caught her Rekka when it fell. "Now, press the advantage!"

Cloud obliged and ran forward. He swung his sword as he closed the gap, and the Buster Sword shifted slightly in the process. It curved towards a point in the hardened flesh that had been weakened by the battle, eliciting a cry of pain and agony from both of the abomination's maws.

That was the effect of Lucky Stars, shifting the flow of attacks so they dealt the most damage they could. The spray of inhuman ichor was proof of that as Cloud retracted his blade and leap back when the creature swung its remaining arm down. The thick arm dented the metal floor they stood atop with the impact.

Fire and lightning flew from behind the ex-SOLDIER and hammered the abomination with their elemental fury. Ice followed as Tifa leap over Cloud and let loose the spell that hit its feet and anchored it to the ground. The rime climbed up its legs, leaving it unable to move as its thick arm was waved back and forth in panic now.

Red XIII sped forward with a snarl, undeterred. He was wreathed in a pale blue glow that made him seem like a shooting star streaking across the floor. With force and speed, the shell of energy covering him smashed into its legs and they shattered into bits, sending the abomination to the ground.

Cloud moved in for the kill, jumping into the air with his blade chambered. He used his own strength to swing down, gravity assisting in delivering the killing blow. The Braver strike cleaved straight through the abomination and the metal beneath it, splitting it in half with a thunderous crash.

The abomination went still and its body began to decompose with its death, evaporating as the mutations bought through the mako-experimentations broke down. Sample H0512 dissipated into nothingness, as did its buds. All that was left behind was a materia used in its creation and what looked to be a Talisman that it had swallowed but couldn't digest.

The battle was won.

"The loss of my eye has been avenged," Red XIII stated, exhaling softly as tension left him. The flame burning on his tail dulled and his strength from the battle waned. "Yet, it is another debt I owe onto you, my companions."

"Don't… don't worry about it," Tifa told him as she picked up the spoils, panting as the adrenaline faded from her system.

Aerith spoke up next. "Thank you all for coming for me. If you hadn't then—"

She was cut off as Crimson suddenly turned and flung her Rekka behind her, towards an exit next to a pair of stairs leading to a platform above. There was the sound of metal being pierced and an ear-splitting scream that followed. They turned around to see there was a man there, dressed in a white coat, cut off from the exit by the giant shuriken had struck the wall between him and it.

"And where do you think you're going?" Crimson asked, walking up to him.

"I… please don't kill me," he begged. "Professor Hojo told me to do it. I was just following orders."

"Where did he go?" she demanded. "I still have questions for him!"

He pointed towards the exit door next to him, but he didn't dare move. "It's used to transport samples brought in from the outside. You need a card to use it, but it bypasses the normal security and power systems."

"That must be how they got Aerith here," Tifa reasoned. "No one would have seen them."

"And it's our ticket out of here," Crimson added. "Hand it over."

He did so willingly, just as the speakers came to life and announced. "WARNING, CODE: XIY-0032 IS IN EFFECT. PLEASE FOLLOW THE PROCEDURE AS OUTLINED."

"What's going on?" Cloud asked as the same statement repeated itself.

"The first three letters designate that the building is under attack," she said, letting the poor scientist flee towards the lift on the other side of the room. It was meaningless to stop him, if the coding remained as she remembered. "We need to leave now!"

"But the President is still alive!" Cloud stated. "We can't leave until he's paid for what's happened in the Slums."

"He won't be for long," she told him, sliding the card through reader and unlocking the door. "The last digits designate the threat level, mostly to the military personnel and Turks. That code-number was only assigned to two individuals in the history of Shinra, and there's only one reason for them to come here. Now come on!"

"And those are?" Cloud asked, with a note of concern to be found in his voice. He could see there was fear in her eyes and hear it in her tone. Whatever the threat was, it frightened her. "Who are they?"

"Genesis Rhapsodos was the first, the one behind the Genesis war…." She hesitated for a moment, before looking him straight in the eyes. "The second was… it was Sephiroth."

No sooner than she said that, there was an explosion that rocked the entire building.


	11. Chapter 11

**Another chapter is here.**

 **LirialRaito: Sharing is caring.**

 **The Light to all Fears: Thank you.**

 **Neal: Keep reading and see.**

 **Kaze: Blood is everywhere indeed.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Sephiroth is dead," Cloud said, walking through the passage leading to the elevator with the others. His tone was hard and firm, assurance in his voice that supported his belief as he spoke. "I _saw_ him die."

"Your memory is spotty," Crimson reminded him. "That was the reason we originally came to Midgar, to help treat it."

Cloud couldn't help but feel it was condescending in the way she said that. "You don't imagine getting run through by a sword that size and then lifted into the air by it. I know I tossed him and it down the Mako Reactor."

"The body was never found according to the records," Crimson pointed out. "And Sephiroth was abnormal even by SOLDIER standards. While high exposure to mako has detrimental results to everything it touches, there's no telling what it did to him. For all we know, he could have survived and waited until he recovered before attacking."

The building shuddered again, and the sound of metal being twisted could be heard alongside screams through the walls.

"Um, maybe we should actually see it for ourselves before making assumptions?" Aerith wisely suggested.

Red XIII agreed wholeheartedly. "Yes. It would be more prudent to have this conversation _after_ we have all the facts and have removed ourselves from immediate danger."

That shelved the conversation and Crimson pressed the button to open the elevator doors. The shutters parted and a metal grate on the interior rose to reveal it was less of an elevator and more of a platform that could ascend and descend through a hydraulic lift. It could support more weight compared to the regular elevators, no doubt for the various samples that were brought into the lab. They bundled into it and the platform shuddered before it slowly descended towards the underground parking lot.

Cloud found the atmosphere suffocating as hatred for Sephiroth stewed in his chest. His home burned, and he thought Tifa had died. If he really was back, then it meant that Cloud had left them un-avenged and that was unacceptable. He would have to make sure that Sephiroth died this time.

But… could he really do it?

He was a former SOLDIER, First-Class. Of that he had no doubt. But Sephiroth was easily the greatest SOLDIER that had ever lived, and his strength was monstrous.

The platform came to a halt and the shutters opened, signaling the end of the ride. He stepped out before the others and found himself in the underground parking lot, rows of civilian vehicles sitting next to one another. The sounds of battle could be heard coming from the slope leading out of the lot and to the surface that curved into the highway. He scaled the slope and caught sight of his fears being confirmed.

Moving fluidly through the air, the long and folded metal that made up his elongated blade cleaved through armor and bodies as easily as paper. Blood and visceral fluids painted the concrete surrounding the building, while flames danced on the carcasses of machines of war built to fend off attackers. Walking astride the dying security forces, Sephiroth came to a pause from his advance long enough to look over his shoulder.

Their eyes met for a brief moment, and it was enough for unholy agony to run rampant in Cloud's mind as something ate away at his sanity from the inside out. It was violating his mind, tearing bits and pieces away, while he clawed at his skull. He thought his mind was going to break entirely, only to see stars falling down.

Then the sweet bliss of unconsciousness ended his suffering.

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson allowed Tifa catch Cloud before he hit the ground as she put away the Sleep Materia that she had fortunately kept on her. It was easier to put him to sleep than see him react like that. It was possibly the worst reaction to date.

Now she was left staring down that monster, clad in black while his long, silver hair flowed down his back. Fear lurked in her blood, spreading with every beat of her heart. Thankfully, his eyes didn't linger on her for long. Instead they turned skyward, to where a helicopter loitered above.

She recognized it as the President's personal aircraft, meant for travel between Midgar and Junon. Was he going to take it to escape? It didn't matter.

Sephiroth flicked his wrist and cut the air with his sword. A blade of energy flew out and cleaved the helicopter in two. The pieces fell down and unceremoniously crashed into the ground, turning into another burning husk of metal. Another flick of the wrist destroyed the elevator shafts that ran up towards the President's office.

"This is horrible," Aerith said, staring out at the destruction as a number of other guards and military forces poured out of the entrance with weapons.

They sprayed out gunfire in concert, only for the bullets to harmlessly bounce off his tempered skin. Their futile efforts were then reinforced as infantrymen kneeled down and used shoulder-mounted rocket launchers. The rockets struck home and bloomed into flame and smoke. Both easily rolled off his skin as he stepped forward without any hesitation.

"This cannot be called a battle," Red XIII noted as the long sword lashed out and began cutting them to pieces, despite their best efforts. He felt nothing for those who helped imprison him, but even he recognized how one-sided the affair was. "This is a slaughter."

Crimson was inclined to agree with him as blast shutters descended to cover the entrance now that there was no one left to throw at him outside the building. They were made from some of the strongest metal to be found on the planet. His sword ran through it like a hot knife through butter, carving an opening for him to stride through.

It was then that a van pulled up at the entrance and flashed its lights at them. Kunsel stuck his head out of the window. He looked at the destruction and cringed, creases forming on his forehead. "What happened here?"

"That's our ride out of here," Crimson said, turning away from the futile sounds of gunfire coming from the inside. It proved harder to do than she would have liked. How many innocent people would he kill to get to the President?

Not everyone in the building shared the company's sins and deserved to die. Most were just regular people trying to earn a living. It was just that the cruel minority had a majority of the power. Either way, there was nothing she could do.

The others climbed into the back of the van while she took the seat next to the Second-Class SOLDIER, and they drove away.

 **[-oOo-]**

Tseng woke with the taste of blood in his mouth and dust scratching the inside of his nose. He was on the ground, buried beneath the heavy metal desk and broken glass that once made up the monitors and lights of the surveillance room. Every inch of his body ached, thin slips of glass from the shattered bulbs piercing his suit and digging into his skin, and at least one of his arms was broken.

"Hurry up!" came Elena's voice. Judging by how muffled it was, there was a door between them. "Rude, get the door open!"

There was a heavy sound of metal smashing against metal. It was thick and dense from what he could hear. Taking into account Rude being the cause of it, it must've been a portable battering ram that was stored on the floor with the guards' equipment.

"Put your back into it!" Elena yelled. "You help too, Reno!"

"You need to relax," Reno said. It was compounded by Rude's continued pounding at the door. The metal groaned with the following hit, and light spilled in from a crevice in the door that had formed. It was a floodlight, and it skimmed over the floor until it washed over him. "Found him."

There were sounds of struggle between Elena and Reno from what he could tell, with Elena's voice booming over Reno's. "Sir, it's Elena! Are you okay?"

"I'm pinned down," he stated, keeping his voice level. "One arm broken, minor fragments of glass embedded in my skin. It's nothing severe."

She didn't seem to think that was the case. "Hold on, we're almost through, Sir! Get this door down now!"

Rude grunted once, affirming the order, and started hammering away again. The gong-like sounds increased as the ram began to break through more and more. Then the door gave a death knell as one hit finally succeeded in breaking it down, the metal crashing onto the ground.

Glass was crunched beneath their shoes as the three Turks filed in, rushing towards him. Reno and Rude lifted the desk off of him, while Elena crouched down and helped him to his feet.

His muscles ached as he did so, but he paid it little mind. The first words out of his mouth were, "Debrief me on the situation."

Reno did so. "The President is dead, ran through by Sephiroth's sword. In the process, we estimated that at least 70% of the staff was killed. Virtually all of the guards and military forces were wiped out. Fortunately, the executives are situated in the underground emergency shelter, safe and sound."

Those losses weren't insignificant, but as long as the most important members were safe then they could recover. "What of the Ancient?"

"She escaped," Reno said. "I went to check on her only to run into one of the surviving scientists, Hojo's second. He stated she was freed from the lab just before the attack by a number of intruders disguised as infantrymen. One of the descriptions match former agent Cissnei."

Elena seemed to bristle at the knowledge that the traitor in their ranks was still alive. "She survived the plate dropping?"

Reno shrugged. "I had her trapped in a Pyramid before I left. If she survived then she had help. Either way, she was here with that Cloud guy and one other person. They got her out of the cage, freed one of the samples, and then killed another before escaping."

Tseng let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, just subtle enough to go unnoticed. Aerith was safe. If there was anything positive to take from this travesty, it was that she and the rest of the Turks were safe.

With that in mind, he got back to his duty. "Reno, inform the Junon branch and the Vice-President of the situation. Have him deploy the emergency and rescue services as soon as possible."

Reno gave a short bow of compliance and then spun on the sole of his shoes towards the exit to follow his orders.

Tseng turned to the largest of the group next. "Rude, continue search and rescue for survivors in the building. If there are any able-bodied men around then have them contribute in the search. Send the lightly injured and women to someplace open and safe. If you can't move someone because of their injury, clear the area so that when the rescue services arrive they can reach them easier."

Rude nodded his head and then left to do that, stepping over a fallen chair in the process and picking up the battering ram.

Last, Tseng turned to the newest recruit. "Elena, go and inform the executives in the underground bunker of the situation. I'll see what data can be salvaged here."

She hesitated, in contrast to the other two. "But your injuries?"

"The job comes first," he stated tersely. "None of these are fatal and you have your orders, so carry them out."

She flinched back at his tone, but nodded. "Yes, sir…."

He watched her go, thinking that his words came out harsher than he expected. But it was necessary. They had a job to do, even if the President had been killed. The head of the company might change, but the company itself would endure. It was their duty to see to that.

…That didn't mean he wouldn't apologize once things settled down.

 **[-oOo-]**

"Okay, here we are," Kunsel said as the van came to a stop in the Sector 5 Slums. They were just outside the house of Aerith and Elmyra. He decided he could use the fresh air as well and left the vehicle.

The back doors of the van opened and the party stepped out onto the ground. Aerith headed towards her home, hesitation and worry on her face. Tifa stretched her legs and looked towards the van, waiting for Cloud to step out of it a moment later.

Red XIII ventured into the flower field, looking around in curiosity and amazement. He leaned his head back and caught the scent of the flowers. "Fascinating… I never imagined such a place could dwell here."

Crimson was the sole exception, remaining where she was in the front seat. She was looking over a map to try and figure out where to go next. Shinra wouldn't be an immediate problem with the damage done, but they couldn't stay in Midgar. It was only a matter of time before they organized themselves well enough to put together an assault team to come after them. And then, with Hojo escaping, she had lost her main lead in helping Cloud.

There was a tap on the window that drew her out of her thoughts. She turned to see that Cloud was outside, arms crossed as he stood there waiting. She opened the door and stood next to him. "You're okay now?"

"Yeah." Even though he said that, she thought she could hear otherwise in his tone. "Listen, I've been thinking about things… and I've decided that I need to settle the score with Sephiroth."

"You'll die," she said, as an absolute matter-of-fact. "Do you not remember what just happened?"

"I'll manage," he claimed. "I just can't let what he's done to my home go. It was one thing when I thought he was dead. I wanted to thank you for everything, but it's best if we part ways now."

Crimson sighed and brought her palms to her eyes, covering them as she put her thoughts in order. She did _not_ need the additional stress. Between Gongaga, being attacked by her old friends, the plate being dropped on the Sector 7 Slums, and Sephiroth's reappearance, this was the last thing she needed to hear. "Where are you going to look for him?"

Cloud looked down to the ground. "Not sure, but I'll find—"

She cut him off. "You don't know where he is, meaning you'll have to keep looking around. Where are you going to start?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off again.

"You don't know that either." She poked him in the chest and looked defiantly in his eyes. "So you don't know where to look. You don't know where to start. And you're trying to get rid of me to go and commit suicide?"

"I'm trying to keep you safe!" Cloud stated. "It's not something I can bring you or anyone else along with me to do!"

"That's not your call!" She all but yelled at him. The eyes of the others fell onto her, and she suddenly felt ashamed at her lack of composure. She turned and left, heading towards the direction of the Church.

Tifa approached him next, hands on her hips. "Were you going to leave me behind as well?"

"I thought he killed you before," Cloud began. "When I found out you were alive, I was happy. I don't want to risk losing you again. I'm sorry."

Tifa didn't get mad like Cissnei. Instead, she gave him a disappointed look and then went over to where Red XIII was. She sat down next to him and looked to the flowers, conversing lowly with the flame-tailed creature.

Meanwhile, Kunsel started at him from behind his shades. His eyebrows were raised over the lenses. "You're not really familiar with women, are you?"

"What did I do?" he asked, honestly at that.

Kunsel sighed before nodding his head towards the direction of the playground. "Come with me. We need to talk."

 **[-oOo-]**

Aerith opened the door to her home to find her mother on the couch, asleep. Elmyra's eyes were closed in slumber, but her face was tightened into a worried frown. Her own expression grew crestfallen at the sight of how she had worried her… and how she would no doubt do so again.

She stepped gingerly across the floor and crouched down to gently touch her adoptive mother's cheek. "Mother?"

The words of her adoptive daughter stirred her awake. Tears moistened her eyes as she reached up and wrapped her arms around Aerith. "You're back! Did they hurt you?"

Aerith shook her head, bringing her arms around her adoptive mother and holding her tight. "No, I'm fine. The others came and got me before things got really bad, but… I have to leave with them."

The happiness in her eyes faded as her brows furrowed in questioning. "Why?"

"There's many things I need to know," Aerith said. "I heard the voices while I was captured, the planet… it needs me."

"I need you with me!" Elmyra pleaded. Her voice was raw with worry, pained at its core. "I need you to be safe."

"I know, but I have to do this," Aerith insisted gently. "If I don't, then I feel that the planet itself will suffer for it—you included."

"But where will you go?" Elmyra asked.

"I can't tell you," Aerith said, the words catching in her throat. "Shinra will come looking for me in a few hours at best, so I have to leave when the others do. If I tell you, they'll try to force the answers out of you. But that man, Tseng, will know that you're telling the truth, and he'll stop them from hurting you to get to me—I know he will."

Elmyra shed tears from the corners of her eyes, leaving them to trickle down the lines of worry unhindered that formed. But there was a smile on her face. Not a happy one, or sad one, but one of resignation. "I can't stop you, can I?"

Aerith shook her head and then laid it on her mother's shoulders. "I'm sorry for leaving you like this all of a sudden. I'll stay safe and come back to you, I promise."

"You better," her adoptive mother said, tightening her embrace. "I don't want to lose you too."

They stayed like that, in silence, for the last moments they would be able share as a family for some time.


	12. Chapter 12

**Another chapter is here. And a reviews to answer.**

 **LirialRaito: True, Sephiroth have bullet proof in a magic sense. And Kunsel indeed survive.**

 **Andrew Mackenzie: Party at this time is as following. Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Red XIII (Nanaki), Crimson (Cissnei) and Kusnel. Also, Barret is not dead.**

 **Neal: Sadly Cloud never deal with women before and thankfully Kusnel will help him out the situation in this chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

Cloud followed the Second-Class SOLIDER to the Sector 6 Park, nestled between the Wall Market and what used to be the Sector 7 Slums.

Naturally, the place was abandoned. The plate fall had left the ground cracked, fissures stemming from the entrance where the massive weight descended and then destroyed the entirety of the slums. The force of the impact scattered bits of scrap metal, leaving it strewn all over the park.

"We won't be bothered here," Kunsel said as he leaned against the metal support of the swing set, which was miraculously still intact."We can talk without reservation now."

"What's this about?" Cloud asked. He was still unsure of what to make of the man. They were both SOLDIER, and Crimson seemed to trust him enough to help them out, but he couldn't seem to read the man behind the shades.

"A few things, actually," he said. "Crimson will probably be pissed at me later on, but let's start with how you managed to screw up back there."

Cloud's lips flattened into a frown. "I still don't see what I did wrong. I'm a SOLDIER, same class as Sephiroth. They would die if they tried fighting him, but I can at least stand my ground and kill him a second time if I don't have to protect them."

Kunsel sighed exasperatedly. "That line of thinking is exactly the problem. Saying you don't need them, and that they'd hold you back, is the same thing as demeaning them and stepping on their pride. It makes you sound ungrateful to them, which is especially rude considering everything Crimson went through."

The words were cold and sharp despite being so quiet. Like a hidden dagger pressing into Cloud's skin. "She went against people she considered friends and colleague. She bit the hand that fed her, and turned her back on them. She gave up everything to try and save you and Zack."

"Who is Zack?" he asked, just a small note of discomfort in his voice. The pain born from that name felt duller than before. Was it because of his earlier reaction to Sephiroth? "She's mentioned him before, but I never got a decent answer out of her."

"A person she and I admired more than anyone else," Kunsel said, replacing the sharpness in his tone with a contrasting softness. "He inspired us to follow our own code of honor and morals, and to do what we believed was right no matter what the price was. That was why I helped her so far, and why she gave up her old life to follow what she believed in… only for you to tell her that she wasn't needed now by trying to cast her aside."

"That's not what I meant." Cloud turned around, feeling restless as he thought over what he had said. From a certain point of view, it did look that way. "I didn't mean for it to sound like that."

"She probably knows that," Kunsel said. "It's why she stormed off. She figured you were being innocently insensitive and felt bad for yelling at you since you didn't realize it. If you think about it, that's also why your black-haired friend stormed off without saying anything."

Cloud did think about it. Tifa had lost as much as he did back then, and she had been training since then to become stronger. How many hours of blood, sweat, and tears did it take for her to go against Shinra's forces and weapons on equal footing when they fought to bomb the reactor? It had to have been thousands at least.

She put in all that effort only to be told she wouldn't be needed by proxy. That he would go alone and get revenge against the one who destroyed their home without her input. When you looked at it like that, it made sense why she had been upset with him as well.

Kunsel took the silence as a cue to continue. "Each of those girls is a capable fighter, and you technically can't make them stay behind in order to protect them. If anything, they'll be liable to leave you behind if you don't treat them as comrades."

The ex-SOLDIER nodded. "Right, I'll apologize to them both."

"Onto the next topic then." Kunsel brought his hand up and adjusted his shades. "Cloud Strife is your name, right? Part of the First-Class?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah."

Kunsel got straight to the point. "Here's the thing, I never heard that name before Crimson contacted me."

Cloud crossed his arms, a minor scowl forming on his face. "It's not that strange. Not everyone is familiar with everyone else."

"You misunderstand." Kunsel stood ramrod straight. "There's no fan club, no friends among the SOLDIER ranks to ask, no records—nothing legitimate that mentioned someone by your name in the First-Class program. That just doesn't happen."

There was a nagging sensation in the pit of Cloud's stomach at where the conversation was going. "What are you getting at?"

"Crimson told me that you were an infantryman who was sent alongside Zack Fair and Sephiroth to investigate an incident at the Nibelheim reactor," he explained. "The rank-and-file are normally beneath notice to those higher than them, but not to their peers. So I did a little digging and found an infantryman who knew someone by that name years back, to confirm what Crimson told me. Are you getting where I'm going with this?"

"That can't be!" It had to be a lie. His eyes were proof that he was SOLDIER, eyes the color of mako. "If it's a lie, then how do I have these eyes, and these memories?"

"You have the answer already." Kunsel pointed to the Buster Sword, where there was a materia placed inside one of the slots. "Mako contains the planet's knowledge of various phenomena. Taking that knowledge and crystallizing it into Materia allows someone to use it with considerable mental power and training. It can even rewrite a person's natural abilities, such as how Sense allows Crimson to process information far too detailed for a human mind to naturally take note of."

"Get to the point." Cloud said tersely.

"The point is that mako naturally acts as a conduit for information, and you were in a tank of the stuff for years alongside him from what Crimson told me. It's possible that the memories were transplanted during that time. The fact that you were comatose for nearly a year afterwards could have been due to your mind simply readjusting the information, and something triggered you into waking up—probably Zack's death."

Cloud wanted to say otherwise. He desperately wanted to. But Hojo's words echoed in his ears. The madman called him a failed experiment from something he called the Reunion Theory. What did that mean to him?

"What did Hojo do to me?" Cloud asked. It was a reasonable question.

Kunsel shrugged. It was a question that he didn't have the answer to. "Hojo is a genius, but he's also insane. Who the hell knows why he does anything that he does, besides the fact that it's for science?"

He had a point. The man tried to crossbreed two entirely different beings for the sake of what he claimed was preserving their races. Heaven forbid Red XIII not be lucid and intelligent, otherwise that could have gone horribly.

"Whatever he did, I'm guessing it was equivalent to what they put SOLDIER candidates through," Kunsel continued. "With Zack's memories, it may have even been meant to speed up training. The only one with all the answers is Hojo."

Cloud didn't want to hear this. He… He had to be SOLDIER. He left Nibelheim for that reason. If he had been an infantryman, then that meant he originally failed. "Why are you telling me this?"

"The truth needs to be told," Kunsel stated. "If I let you go on thinking that those memories were yours, it would have been harder on everyone when the illusion finally broke down. Crimson and Aerith would have had to constantly dance around the topic, slowly growing uncomfortable with the notion that someone they cared about was being impersonated. Your friend would have likely been wondering what happened to the person she grew up with. Not to mention it would have been an insult to Zack as well—he died for your freedom, and that meant being free from the lies as well."

Kunsel walked past him, coming to a stop just behind him and adding, "Search for the truth and find out who you were before you were taken. You have the strength to do so now, and you have allies who will walk with you along the way. Don't squander them."

Left alone with the burden of questioning what the truth was, Cloud remained rooted in place by his thoughts as Kunsel departed back towards Aerith's home.

 **[-oOo-]**

"I can offer you an ear if you wish to speak, from one warrior to another," Red XIII told Tifa. They were both sitting in the garden that bloomed with flowers, and had been making small talk until that point.

"What makes you think I have something I need to vent?" she asked.

"You smell troubled," he explained. "I take it the reason is because of what transpired with the young man just now?"

"… I lost everything when my home was burned down," she started, after a pause. "I lost everything again when the plate fell. There's nothing left for me to do now but chase after Sephiroth. It's what I've trained to do ever since that day, and if I don't grab the chance to take down Sephiroth myself…."

Red XIII finished for her. "Everything would have been for nothing?"

She nodded and looked down to her fists. "There's blood on my hands, and I have nothing left from my old life except Cloud and vengeance. If I lost both of them, I don't think I could keep pushing ahead. I thought he would understand that and tell me he wanted me to come with him."

"Have you tried telling him that?" Red XIII asked her. She shook her head. "Then explain it to him. Do not waver out of fear of reprisal."

"Let's say I do, and he still tells me to stay behind?" she asked. "What then?"

Red XIII stretched his back and then laid his head down. "If you are the warrior I believe you to be, then his response won't really won't change what you'll do. You're not asking for permission. You're just explaining why you will fight no matter what and that should be recognized and respected—warrior-to-warrior."

"Hmm, you're right." She smiled in gratitude and rose to her feet to do just that. "Thanks, Red."

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson sat down in one of the pews that remained intact within the Church, leaning her head back over the top and closing her eyes in thought. It was such a simple plan that she had at first. They would get the information and then leave without anyone being the wiser they were there.

Then, in a single day, everything went to Hell and back.

For a second, in a pure moment of weakness, she wondered what it would have been like to have never been assigned to watch Zack Fair after his mentor had died. They had met on and off the job before then, the first time being him saving her from a Genesis Copy after she made a mistake. But it was during the vacation that she truly gained insight into his nature and came to see him as someone she wanted to be close to.

If she had never gotten to know him to the extent that she did then, what would be different?

She was roused from her thoughts when she felt a touch on her shoulder. It caught her off-guard and her training reflexes kicked in. Her weapon was in her hand and pointed at the owner of the hand's throat of in a flash.

"Easy," Cloud said, keeping his tone soft and un-offended at having a weapon at his jugular. "I just wanted to apologies for earlier."

"Sorry, you caught me off-guard and I reacted poorly." She put the weapon next to her. "It was my fault. I let my awareness slip while thinking of the past."

Cloud removed his Buster Sword and placed it against the wall, taking a seat next to her on the pew. "Kunsel told me about how I might have come across as being ungrateful. You gave everything up to help me, and I didn't take that into account."

"I understood where you were coming from." Her hair shifted as she turned to face him. "But you know I've had plenty of training, and I can still beat you in a match any day of the week. I'm not someone who needs to be protected."

"I'll keep that in mind from now on…." He seemed nervous to her as he trailed off, hesitant to speak as he clasped his fingers and looked to the flowers growing beneath the opening in the roof. "Can I ask you something personal?"

"You can ask, but whether or not I'll answer depends on what it is." Crimson brought her legs up, planting her feet on the pew and curling her arms around them as she looked him in the eyes. "So, what do you want to know?"

"Who was Zack?" Cloud asked, wincing as he did so. "Why did he help me?"

She stared at him in a stunned silence for an elongated pause as her mind drew conclusions. Then she let loose the breath she had been holding in. "Let me guess, Kunsel told you?"

He nodded. "He said that he died for my freedom, but I can't even recall what he looks like. I have his memories of certain places and things and people, but I also have my own. I want to know the truth of the man whose sword it is that I've been using."

"When you put it like that I really don't have much of a choice but to tell you, do I?" She sighed. "He… never wavered in following what he believed was right, and had a strong sense of morals. He encouraged others to follow their dreams and protect their honor, no matter how steep the price. He was a great guy, and so forward about everything that it was impossible not to like him."

"Did you love him?" he asked next. An awkward silence followed the question as Crimson lowered her head behind her knees. Cloud backpedaled, sensing he'd stepped on a sensitive topic. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"Maybe I had something of a crush on him," she admitted, hiding a blush. "Maybe I did love him to an extent. But he was already in a relationship with Aerith, and I was just a colleague who idolized him. At best he saw me as a friend."

Cloud looked at the Buster Sword, taking in all of this new information. "Was I also his friend?"

"I think so." She unfurled her legs and rose to her feet. "Zack was always protective of his friends, so I don't doubt he would have been willing to take on an army for you."

"He would go that far for me, and yet I don't remember a thing." His expression grew pitiable at his own words. "You, Aerith, and Kunsel are helping me because it's what he wanted as well. It feels wrong that I can't even remember what he looked like after all of that."

"Which is why we need to head to Nibelheim next," she said as she crouched down to look him in the eyes from his seat. "The Shinra Mansion there is where it all began. If we go there, we might find some clues to getting your memories back, or maybe even Hojo. I still have questions for him."

"And if there aren't any answers there?" he asked. "What then?"

"Then we keep searching." She set her hands on top of his in a gentle manner. "I've decided that I want to see for myself who you really are, so I won't leave your side until we get your memories back in order. If that means going up against Sephiroth or the Company itself, then we'll cross those bridges when we come to them. But you don't have to do it alone."

"… Okay," he said. "We'll go there together."

 **[-oOo-]**

Tseng stood at attention on the helipad of the Shinra building as a B1-Alpha Helicopter whirred over his head, with over a dozen other aircrafts approaching and landing below. Next to him were Elena, Rude, Reno, Heidegger, Scarlet, Palmer, and Reeve. The surviving executives and Turks had assembled in order to await the arrival of the new president.

The helicopter landed. The door to it opened and revealed Rufus Shinra, adorned in a white coat and suit. He climbed out, accompanied by an augmented guard hound known as Dark Nation, and stood in front of the assembled men and women with his hands behind his back.

"I've received your message about what has happened," he said. "As of this moment, I am taking command of the company. Everything that my father had been doing, every resource that was at his disposal, is now mine. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" was the collective response of the assembled group. None of them could claim otherwise.

"I'm different than my father," he continued. "His methods were inefficient and look where it got him. His forces cut in half, his headquarters in ruin, and an early grave by a monster of his own creation. I will not make the same mistakes, and I will not tolerate failure that could have been avoided. None of you are exempt from this. Is that understood as well?"

"…yes, sir." they responded again, albeit with more uncertainty from the other executives. Of the assembled, they had the most to lose should he be true to his word. For the Turks it was always a matter of fact.

"Good." He marched towards the entrance, the guard hound at his side. "Then let's get started with cleaning up the mess he left behind."


	13. Chapter 13

**Once again, new chapter is here.**

 **Andrew Mackenzie: More and you shall have.**

 **Enjoy!**

After their unexpected break, Crimson reassembled the party inside of Aerith's home to outline their travel plan through the use of a map. She pointed to a spot on the map she was fairly sure that Cloud and Tifa were intimately familiar with. "The Shinra manor was where Cloud was held during those years in captivity, so it'll be the best location to start our search for some way of restoring his memory. At the very least, we'll see if someone spotted Hojo wandering around."

"The town itself was burned down," Tifa said. "What makes you so sure we'll find anything there?"

"They rebuilt it," Kunsel said, sparing Crimson the effort. "They rebuilt it and repopulated the town with people who would act as though nothing had happened. They did the same thing in Kalm, before the Nibelheim incident."

Crimson frowned. "How do you know even know that?"

"I have my ways," he said, keeping his tone flat.

"Ugh…" She turned back to the map and sighed. "What he said is true. In cases where mass damage has been done by accident they cover it up to hide evidence of their responsibility."

"How is it possible to do such a thing?" Red XIII asked. "Such destruction cannot go unnoticed easily."

"Unless the area is closed off and there are no witnesses," Tifa pointed out, a note of fury in her voice as she looked to Crimson. "What Hojo said back then was true as well, wasn't it?"

Cloud stood ramrod straight at the mention and looked directly at Crimson as well. "Is that what happened to the survivors of Nibelheim?"

"… Hojo… wasn't lying," she admitted, very reluctantly. It wasn't something she was proud of, and she immediately felt the need to defend herself. "I wasn't part of the operation, but… it would fall under the Turks jurisdiction to ensure that it was done in secrecy. Chances are you two are the only ones who bore witness to it and came out alive, while the rest are…."

The silence that followed was heavy. It was permeated with a sense of guilt and anger from the former Turk and the two who hailed from Nibelheim. Surprisingly, Aerith was the one who broke it before it grew too tense and someone lashed out.

"What's done is done," she said, her voice soft, yet firm. "The guilty party isn't even with us at the moment. We should focus on what we can do now."

"…Right," Cloud finally said. It was clear from his tone he was restraining himself from getting angry. Crimson didn't blame him for it. These were his friends and neighbors who either died or were taken, not to mention he himself was a victim.

Nevertheless, she continued. "We'll head to Kalm as soon as we're done here, in order to re-supply. Because of the chaos at headquarters right now we have a window to escape, but they'll likely have Midgar on lockdown soon enough. Once we're out of Midgar, we'll be off their radar for the time being and can plan out a trip to get there without notice."

"I'll be coming as well," Aerith added. "There are things I need to know and do, and Shinra will search for me again in due time. It's better that I disappear with you, and I can help with keeping Cloud's headaches in check and healing if need be."

"Are you sure?" Crimson asked. While the help would be appreciated, since it would mean she didn't have to knock him out every time with a sleep spell, it would likely be dangerous. "It's a long and dangerous trip, and we won't be coming back any time soon, if ever. You have a home and a family here."

Aerith's expression grew somewhat sad, the smile on her face more so. "I've already said goodbye to Mother, and this is the only way I can keep her safe. If she doesn't know where I am then Tseng will leave her alone in hope of waiting for me to return. At the very least, I don't think he'll harm her to get to me."

Crimson wanted to agree with her on that last part, but after what happened with the plate falling she couldn't. If ordered to, he would likely do so. "Okay, it's your choice."

"I don't think it'll be safe or…." Cloud trailed off when she gave him a hard stare, making it clear she wouldn't be deterred. "Just don't run off on your own or anything and stick to the rear line if we get into a battle."

Kunsel nodded, seemingly in approval. "I'll use the van I secured to get you to Kalm. After that, I'll dump it someplace in the opposite direction and disappear for a while. With any luck, they'll presume I was KIA when Sephiroth appeared and I can focus on gathering intelligence on Hojo and Sephiroth without any concern."

"Cosmo Canyon is on the way." Tifa pointed to the location on the map and then looked to Red XIII. "There's no reason for us to not be able to drop you off there before continuing on. Is that good enough?"

The sentient beast nodded. "It will suffice, yes. You have my thanks."

"If there's nothing else, we'll leave in five minutes." Crimson rolled up the map, its purpose fulfilled for the moment. She looked over her shoulder to see that Cloud and Tifa were talking, keeping their voices low as they did so. She didn't need to hear them to guess what it was about, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

Like Aerith had said, what was done was done.

 **[-oOo-]**

Rufus settled into the office that was once his father's relatively comfortably. The office itself was fairly unscathed, unlike the majority of the building. The only signs that it had been intruded upon during the attack was the bloodstained chair from where his father had been skewered from behind and the door, which had been sliced in half. He had the door removed entirely, to be replaced later on, and a suitable replacement chair taken from Palmer's office.

At present, he paced back and forth in front of the window, glancing at a tablet to read up on his father's plans to this point. Tseng had graciously provided it before cooperating with the others in piecing together what transpired the throughout the day. There had, apparently, been a group of intruders within the building mere moments before the attack and he wanted to know everything about them.

His guard hound stirred from lounging on the floor and rose up to its feet before there was a knock on the metal frame where the door had once been. He looked over his shoulder to see it was Tseng. "Enter."

The leader of the Turks did so and stood at attention. "The Mayor has been detained for questioning in the cells, and your father's remains have been cremated, as ordered."

"Good," he said, in the same calm tone of voice as if he was talking about the weather. There was little that could change it, and his father's death didn't exactly merit. He took a seat at the desk. "Onto the next order of business then: The intruders."

"The intruders consisted for a former Turk, a member of the terrorist organization AVALANCHE, and an infantryman who was subjected to experimentation by Professor Hojo," he stated. "We've determined that they somehow managed to get the Mayor's identification card and used it to reach the laboratory, intercepting Professor Hojo to access it and then freeing both the Ancient and another test subject obtained from Cosmo Canyon years ago. They combated another monstrous sample and then escaped using the lift leading from the research department to the underground parking lot."

"A former Turk and a previous test subject of Hojo had a hand in this?" he asked, for confirmation. When Tseng nodded, he asked, "Regulation should have had them both eliminated to prevent this very thing from happening, so why weren't they?"

Tseng did not waver when asked. He outright confessed. "I allowed them to leave together some time ago, Sir."

"Explain," Rufus ordered. Tseng did so, detailing the events that led to up to Cissnei being terminated from her position due to helping them escape until now. Immediately after Tseng had finished his report, Rufus told him. "I'll overlook this."

After all, he himself had already vouched for the Turk's loyalty once before, when Scarlet wanted the others executed. Even if only to ensure that their gratitude would become something that he could use at a later date. Plus, Tseng was competent at his job and there was no way he could have known this would have happened.

"Thank you, Sir." He bowed his head slightly. "You have my word that I will remedy the situation as quickly as possible."

Rufus acknowledged it with a slight nod and then continued. "For the time being, I need to know if you believe they were working with Sephiroth to take the Ancient?"

They had managed to get the footage from the cameras in the office during the attack, witnessing Sephiroth telling his father how he wouldn't let them get the Promised Land. He wanted to dismiss his father's belief in such a thing as a fairy-tale that wasted money, but the fact that this happened lent some credibility to it. Whatever was there, he wanted it first and foremost, and they needed the girl who had been taken for that—the Ancient.

"I sincerely doubt that," Tseng said. "Sephiroth is responsible for the destruction of Nibelheim, which was where the terrorist and rouge infantryman hailed from. The latter was cited in Hojo's notes as being on-site at the time of Sephiroth's supposed death and had suffered from what looked to be impalement by the weapon he often carries. As absurd as it sounds, I believe that it was mere happenstance—Sephiroth likely got wind we obtained the Ancient and decided to act, while they mounted a rescue operation after the plate fall."

The plate fall was a blunder on his father's behalf, Rufus had to note. Those citizens were a still-viable source of revenue, not to mention the resources and manpower to rebuild the entire sector and plate would be costly. There were dozens of ways it could have been better handled, ranging from infiltration to subverting the local populace. Was he hoping this Promised Land could offset the costs entirely?

Not to mention it _clearly_ didn't work, meaning it was a complete waste. "Both they and the company share a common enemy in this Sephiroth. Do you believe they can be used as an asset against him then?"

"Not willingly," Tseng stated. "Former agent Cissnei attempted to stop the operation earlier, citing moral issues, the Ancient was detained and lost her mother to Professor Hojo's experimentations and subsequent escape years ago, and the other two took part in bombing the reactors. The Anti-Shinra sentiment between them all is too great for willing collaboration."

"This could still work out in our favor," Rufus reasoned. "If they encounter him first then one or the other will be killed and we'll be down a problem. For now, your priority will be to find and retrieve the Ancient if she's still in the city, as well as locating Professor Hojo. His creations are the source of our current problems and he's been involved in too many things to be allowed to leave so easily."

"Understood," Tseng replied, just before departing.

 **[-oOo-]**

Elmyra Gainsborough sat in a chair in her living room, tenderly holding a flower in her hand that her adoptive daughter had grown. She was gone now, having departed for parts unknown. Elmyra had no idea if or when she would see the little girl she had taken in again.

It was years ago when they met. She had gone to the train station to wait for her husband to come back from his leave. He had been drafted into the Wutai War by Shinra, and had left for the battlefield. She went to the train station, day after day, waiting for him to come home. But he never did.

One day, she came across a grim sight. There was a dying woman lying at the bottom of the platform stairs. Aerith had been seven at the time, begging for her mother to move as the guard phoned for a medical unit to arrive.

The woman kept urging and urging Aerith to run so that she could get away. But she wouldn't leave her mother's side as long as she lived. Elmyra could still recall what she said to her daughter that day.

"It will be fine," she said, reaching up to brush her child's hair. Her fingers were trembling, and it took all her effort just to do so. It was clear that she wouldn't survive more than a few more seconds, and she knew it. "I'll return to the Planet… and watch you grow into a wonderful woman… so don't cry."

The woman then turned to Elmyra, her labored breathing growing shallower and shallower. With her final breath, she begged for Elmyra to take Aerith somewhere safe. And then she died, right there and then.

Aerith was horrified and distraught, shaking her mother in disbelief. Her attempts to wake her were futile, and the child could no longer hold in her tears. She clung to Elmyra and cried her eyes out.

Seeing the child so broken, Elmyra couldn't help but embrace her in an effort to comfort her. Taking a final look at her mother, Elmyra decided to honor her wish and took Aerith home with her. The loneliness of an empty house was lifted as the two became family, and her daughter slowly came into her gifts despite doing her best to hide it.

And now her home was empty once more. The little girl who brightened her life was gone now, off to fulfill whatever purpose that she had been given her gift for. Would she return one day? Or would she leave her behind like her husband did?

A knock on the door roused her from her thoughts. She walked over and opened it, only to see Tseng standing there with two Shinra Guards. She scowled at him. "You again."

"Wait here," he told the pair as he entered her home of his own accord and shut the door behind him. "Good Evening, Elmyra. Is Aerith here?"

She slapped him without a second thought, hard enough to leave his cheek reddened. If the slap had hurt him, he showed no indication. Not even a wince or look of anger.

"Was that really called for?" he asked in his usual, professional tone.

"You kidnapped her!" Elmyra said, her voice cracking with anger and sorrow. "After all the years you've known her, you kidnapped her and took her to the very people responsible for her birth-mother's death. How can you stand there and ask me where she is after that?"

"It was the only way to protect her," he claimed. "She was associating with known terrorists before they carried out the destruction of the support holding up the Sector 7 Plate. If we hadn't taken her into protective custody, her life would have likely been forfeit when the plate fell."

"That's a pretty little lie you're telling to justify what you've done." Elmyra huffed. "We both know the truth, don't we?"

"… I have no idea what you mean," he said. It was so smooth that she almost believed it. "Just tell me where she is. It's very important."

"She's not here," Elmyra told him. "She left hours ago."

He frowned. "Where?"

"She didn't tell me where." She walked back over to the chair and sat down. "You've known her for a few years now. You can tell exactly why she did so."

Tseng sighed, no doubt able to piece together the scenario, and then set his card on the table. "If she makes contact with you again, notify me. A very dangerous man is after her, and we have a vested interest in her safety. That has always been my…the company's priority."

Her eyes fell upon the flower her adoptive-daughter had given her. "Just get out."

He did so without another word.

 **[-oOo-]**

On the outskirts of the sleepy town of Kalm, the van came to a stop just off the road and the party poured out of it eagerly after the bumpy ride they had taken getting there. The wastelands around Midgar seemed to stretch forever, made worse by the fact they got attacked often by malfunctioning war machines left behind to roam the grounds. It was a pain to deal with them and keep the van safe, but they succeeded.

Also, to their surprise, the materia that they had taken from the laboratory seemingly recorded the attack used against them… somehow. It was still a bit of a mystery how but, given _where_ they found it, the group chalked it up to being a part of Hojo's experimentations. He was an expert in this field, even if he was also insane and amoral.

"Well, I'm going to leave you guys here," Kunsel told Crimson, who was seated across from him in the front of the van. "You've got my PHS number if you want to contact me for anything, right?"

"Yeah." She unbuckled her seatbelt and sighed. "Thanks for doing all of this for us, again. I'm not lying when I say it wouldn't have gone as smoothly as it did without you."

"No problem," he said, flashing the former Turk a small smile as she climbed out and shut the door. "Good luck on your end of things."

"I think we'll manage with or without luck, if we're careful," she said. "Just take care of yourself. And, if we cross paths wherever you slink off to, I'll buy a drink or something."

A slight chuckle left his mouth. "Will do."

Crimson watched as he drove off into the distance. Once he was gone, she turned to the others. "Okay, we made good time but the hard part starts here. Let's reserve rooms at the Inn and then go shopping for supplies before we move on. Is there anything in specific anyone needs?"

"I'll need to pick up a weapon," Aerith said, holding up the makeshift staff that Tifa had ripped free from a wall. "This doesn't channel my magic as well as I'd like."

Cloud looked at the Buster Sword for a moment and decided, "I'll get a new sword too."

"You sure?" Crimson asked. "If you really want one I won't stop you, but it's okay to use it."

"No," he said. "I'll keep it, but it's not mine to use. Not really."

Crimson wanted to say something more, but there wasn't anything she could at this point. They'd already talked about everything, and it made sense that he'd want to distance himself after learning the truth. She couldn't blame him. "Okay."

"That means you can come with me," Aerith said, taking it upon herself to wrap her arm around his and then pull him forward. "We'll meet you all at the Inn!"

Crimson watched the pair leave, with the swordsman insisting he could walk alone and the healer playfully claiming that the way they were doing it was the proper etiquette. She shook her head and turned to the other two. "Let's go and make the reservations."


	14. Chapter 14

**Once again, another chapter is here.**

 **Kazeshuriken: Thank you fir the comment.**

 **Neal: Thanks.**

 **Enjoy!**

Aerith happily walked the cobblestone-lined roads of the small and quiet town of Kalm, which seemed to be nestled deeply beneath a rather homely atmosphere. It was a pure contrast to Midgar, despite the relative proximity. It was mostly stone and wood, rather than steel and iron. It was wrought together in a way that was compacted and orderly to fit within the raised walls that sheltered in its bosom those that lived here, rather than a towering cage that shone in neon on the top while everything below the surface was left to ruin.

The surviving Ancient could imagine enjoying a life here with Elmyra. Her adoptive mother had mentioned it once or twice. If her husband had come back from the drafting they would have left the city behind to stay here as a family consisting of a miner, a housewife, and a girl working to leave the nearby hillside covered in flowers.

Yet, she could hear it now. Small voices, lives lost during the events that Kunsel and Crimson had spoken of. Their deaths covered up in the wake of an accident, the few that remained were still calling for those that were taken and never seen again. She imagined their numbers were greater in the past, but the majority had likely rejoined the flow of the Lifestream.

The beauty surrounding the small town was something she hadn't seen because of her life spent in the city. She wondered how long it would last if they kept siphoning energy from the planet at the rate they did in Midgar. The wasteland would continue to spread out further and further, until it encompassed even these docile lands and withered the grasslands around it while drying out the waterfall and nearby river until they became husks of what they once were.

She hummed as she strode alongside the young man that Zack had taken it upon himself to care for. He was keeping pace with her, but his head was low and staring down at the ground. The thoughts going through his mind weren't unknown to her, and she could guess his reasoning for wanting a new sword.

The Buster Sword was a legacy onto itself. Angeal, Zack's mentor, was given the blade by his father and used it scarcely to preserve it out of his father's memory. Zack was entrusted with it, though the act that led to the bequeathing had left him fragile enough to seek refuge in her arms. Then, as Zack himself died, she heard his voice through the planet doing the same for Cloud.

However, the revelations about Cloud's jumble of memories left him feeling unworthy. There was nothing she could do about that personally. No one alive could. Nothing besides him coming to terms with it would do so, but she could accompany him until then.

"We're here."Aerith came to a stop at a building and he stopped a step later. He opened the door for her and she stepped inside to find there were two shopkeepers, one on the left and one on the right. The two sides were clearly divided, a Materia shop on one end and a Weapon shop on the other.

The Ancient approached the counter on the right, where the weapons were on display. The shopkeeper greeted her. "Welcome to Kalm's Weapon Shop. How can I help you this fine day?"

"I need a Staff." She gestured to her body's length. "It should be about my height, maybe less or maybe more?"

The shopkeeper nodded and went to the rack in the back to pick out a metal one, with two weights on the end. "Good for whacking pesky Mus and wild Chocobos. It comes with three materia slots too. Try it."

She grasped it and felt the weight of it. It was well-balanced enough for her to twirl it with no difficulty, though it had a bit of dust on it. Not many people must've shopped for them. She handed it back. "I'll take it after we get something for him."

"I need a sword to replace the one on my back," Cloud said. "Sharp and durable."

The shopkeeper looked at Cloud closely and scratched his chin. "Hmm… I have just the thing for you." He went to one of the glass cases and opened it to pull out a sword with a wide hand-guard and the edges looked like they were forged out of silver. "Try it."

Cloud took the blade in hand and swung it around with ease, the foreign memories guiding his hands through the motions with enhanced strength. It was a decent sword, he acknowledged. "It's light and sharp. But can it withstand combat?"

The shopkeeper let loose a hardy laugh. "Yes it will. Harder than tempered steel, shines like silver, and sharp enough to cut through the hide of an Elfadunk!" He took a deep breath and sighed. "It is only ashamed we lack the means to make more with the mines closed, but better it be in the hands of someone who can use it than left on display."

"Why is that?" Aerith asked. "The mines, I mean."

The shopkeeper scratched his chin. "Eh… the Midgar Zoloms have been more aggressive than usual. There is a pair there, male and female, who are very large for their kind. Some say because of run-off from Mako Reactors in Midgar, back when the land was fertile and they dwelled there. Recently anyone who enters gets attacked by them and their children, so no one can get to the mines to work."

"… I'll take it," Cloud decided, placing it on his back. The magnet was strong enough that it still attached the blade in a way that he could reach for either one without any problems. "How much?"

"1800 Gil for both."

While Cloud paid, Aerith wandered over to the materia display to find something to complement the Restore Materia she kept on her. She could actually tell what the materia were at a glance because of her Ancient heritage, though she couldn't use magic on her own without the crystallized form of it. The one that Red XIII had was a bit unique, but she suspected that was courtesy of Hojo tampering with forces he shouldn't.

She called over the shopkeeper for the Materia Shop and had him fetch the Heal Materia to go with their other purchases. The two then left the dual shop behind and headed for the Inn. Outside of it, they found Red XIII by the entrance and looking somewhat peevish as he laid there with his head perched on his crossed paws.

"What's wrong?" Aerith asked.

"I am not allowed inside," he said, flaring his nostrils as he exhaled. "Apparently, I qualify as a pet and the Innkeeper refuses to allow me to stay."

"Oh." Aerith knew that must've stung, being treated less than those around you. It made her remember her time in the lab, both the first one she and her biological mother had escaped from and recent events. They always called her an Ancient or a Sample, but never human. "We'll go talk to them then."

"Do not waste your breath." Red XIII rose to height and stretched himself out. "I do not need to be coddled, nor will I stay where I am unwanted. I will go outside of the walls and hunt. You will find me by where we departed from the vehicle come morning."

They could only watch as he trotted towards the entrance to the town. Aerith couldn't really say anything to soothe what must've been his wounded his pride. It rankled her a bit though, and she wasn't the only one given the yelling she heard coming from the other side of the door.

"He's not a pet!" That was Tifa. "He's a sentient being capable of speech and thought! He won't hurt anyone!"

"He still stays outside." Someone else, the Innkeeper she guessed, stated insistently. "I know some monsters can mimic speech, and I won't be fooled! Besides, his tail is on fire and that is a hazard in its self! I'm not risking my place burning down!"

"We should probably stop this," Aerith said.

Cloud nodded and opened the door. Tifa whipped her head around towards him so fast her hair snapped at the end. Aerith followed behind him as he entered and spoke. "Tifa, there's no more point in arguing. Red left the town for the night."

"Damn… I'll go check on him later then." Tifa shot the Innkeeper a parting glare and then turned towards the stairs. "Come on. The rooms are up this way."

She led the two to their room and Aerith took a seat on one of the beds by the window. It gave her a better view of the town to appreciate. The novelty of being in new surroundings hadn't worn out, so she basked in the sunlight pouring into the window while taking in the placid sights.

"It's not fair for them to treat him like that," Tifa said, pacing the room.

"You're pretty passionate about this considering you just met a few days ago," Cloud noted curiously. "Why's that?"

"He gave me some good advice for one. For another, he's pulled his weight both in the laboratory and the ride here. Think about how far we still have to travel. If he has to be left outside all the time and we don't speak up, he'll end up feeling like we don't treat him like an equal."

"Mhm… I see your point. But we do have to keep a lower profile as well considering how close we are to Midgar. We stick out too much as is, so causing a ruckus will make that worse for—" The words died as the door to the room opened then to reveal that Crimson had arrived with traveling backpacks for all of them on her back.

She looked upset. "So, anyone want to explain why the Innkeeper looked like she wanted to maim someone when I asked if the room was already paid for the night?"

Aerith gave her a general understanding of the situation, and then added, "She might have been more open to letting him stay if the town had easier access to the mines. The Weapon Shopkeeper made it clear they can't get to the mines because of the Midgar Zoloms, and from what I know this town is dependent on mining for income. The shortage of work would lead more people to being agitated."

"There's nothing we can do about the Midgar Zoloms." Crimson said, unraveling the map again and pointing to the location of the mines. "But we will need to get through those mines to get to Junon so we can get to Nibelheim. Cloud and I took a Merchant's boat north and then a delivery truck east to get to Midgar from Junon, but they'll be watching that way after what just happened…."

She moved her finger to a location on the grasslands just above the marshes. "We'll have to get through those marshes, so we'll need chocobos from the ranch just above them. They have racing breeds there that can cross the terrain easy and fast enough to avoid the snakes."

"That's maybe three or four days of walking from here on foot," Cloud pointed out. "We'll have to camp out then."

Crimson pointed over her shoulder to where she left the bags. "I brought two tents. Cloud can sleep with Red XIII in one, while Aerith can share with Tifa. I'll sleep by myself in the old one we used on our way to Midgar from Gongaga. We leave in the morning, so if there's anything in town you want to see then go do so now."

 **[-oOo-]**

"What do you mean we have to catch our own chocobos?" Crimson asked the boy who called himself Choco Billy, with Cloud by her side. The rest were outside, with Aerith and Tifa not wanting to deal with the stench of feces steeped into the wooden pens of the barn and Red XIII keeping a respectable distance away since the chocobos had been riled up somewhat by his presence.

It was a few days after Kalm. They had to cross the hills and grasslands to reach the ranch. It hadn't been overly difficult since they took turns on watching out during the night for any attacks, but coming all this way just to learn they were fresh out of chocobos to rent made their traveling plans harder.

The boy with a hat on his head and a bandage over his nose looked at her like she was deaf. "It's exactly like I said, Old Lady. These are all owned by someone else. I can't just rent them out to a couple of old folks. You have to catch your own."

"Old folks?" Cloud mumbled.

Crimson sighed at the set back. These were tamed racing chocobo in the pens and could easily cross the marshes without any problem. Would random ones they find really suffice? "Can wild ones cross the marshes without getting caught by the snakes in the water?"

The hat shifted as the boy nodded his head. "If they're adults they can go through the marshes quick because of their legs being fully developed. There's a reason they're so hard to catch if you don't know what you're doing."

"So, how do we go about catching one then?" Cloud asked.

"You need a lure materia so they don't immediately run off when you find a trail they run along, and some greens to keep them calm. A chocobo doesn't pay attention to much of anything while it's eating. We sell them both here since there's a bunch of wild ones running around the grasslands. Good luck getting them though since monsters like to hang around them."

"We can deal with the monsters," Cloud said. None of them had been extremely difficult so far and the sword he bought was certainly worth what he paid for it. Once everything was paid for the pair left the barn and was greeted by a wind that made the viridian grass billow like waves in a sea of green….

Well, that and dancing chocobos. Yes, really.

They were surprisingly coordinated, much to the delight of Aerith and Tifa. The pair of girls clapped at the display with smiles on their faces that wouldn't be out-of-place, if not for the fact they were technically all wanted by Shinra and on the run. Once the performance was finished, one of the chocobos walked up the edge of the wooden fence folding it in and placed something in Aerith's hands.

"What did it give you?" Tifa asked as Aerith held it up to the sun, twisting it around and peering at it intimately. "A red-colored materia?"

"It's a Summoning Materia," she said as Cloud and Crimson approached them.

"Huh. Those are pretty rare." Crimson was a bit suspicious that something like that simply fell into her hands so easily. "And it just gave it to you?"

Aerith nodded. "From what I can tell, it summons a chocobo and its rider, a moogle called Mog."

"That… doesn't honestly sound like something the company would waste development funds for. There's no military use for it, nor can I see it being something with commercial value either given how expensive making materia can get. So how did the chocobo get it in the first place?"

"It's naturally formed, not artificially." Aerith held the materia between her palms and closed her eyes. "Let me call it out."

The air around the Ancient distorted as she concentrated, briefly illuminated as she gathered her will and power. Then there was a pop and plume of white smoke that was blown away by a stray breeze. Where there was nothing but empty space before, there was now a healthy adult chocobo with a moogle on top of it, made distinct by the bandana on its head.

"Moogle Rider Mog, reporting for duty, kupo!" the tiny creature declared proudly, joined by its chocobo rearing back and flapping its wings. "How can I be of service, kupo?"

Crimson found herself enamored with how adorable it was, though she restrained herself from saying it aloud. Aerith, on the other hand, had no such qualms as she plucked the moogle off its mount and hugged it.

"It's adorable!" She squeezed it tight against her. "And it feels so fluffy!"

"Urrggg… Let go, kupo!" It struggled somewhat comically, flapping its wings and waving its stumpy arms. "You're crushing me, kupo!"

Tifa was focused on the chocobo, which responded rather pleasantly to her rubbing its feathers by pushing its head up under her hand for a stroke. "It feels so real. Did you bring them to life from the materia?"

"The summoning in itself is not alive exactly." Aerith loosened her hold on the struggling moogle, which took a deep breath in relief. "Rather, the planet's knowledge of the creature stored inside of the materia was called out. The energy I'm using to cast the spell forms a construct for the memories to inhabit. So it's sentient, but its body's duration among other things is reliant on the summoner's ability."

"I think I get it." Tifa turned to the other two. "Did you manage to get the chocobos we needed?"

Cloud shook his head once. "None for rent. We've got to catch them ourselves. It shouldn't be too hard, but considering they're wild it'll be a rough ride."

"That could be a big problem." A small frown appeared on Crimson's face. "I never learned to ride in the first place since it wasn't part of my training, so I was counting on tame ones that were more suited to new riders."

"I haven't ridden on one either," Aerith admitted as well. She turned towards Tifa. "What about you?"

"Well no. I haven't done it either." That was going to be a problem in the grand scheme of things. If they fell off while riding one in the marshes, then they would likely be overwhelmed by the Midgar Zolom and its kin. "How about we ask the ranch owner to teach us?"

"I can help with that, kupo!" Mog flapped its wings and finally managed to free itself. It landed on its mount, waving its tiny arms to grab their attention. "I can make you passable riders in less than a day, kupo!"

Cloud was more than a little skeptical about that. "Can you really?"

The moogle bobbed its head and raised a tiny hand to the sky. "Of course, kupo! How many moogles do you see that ride chocobos, kupo? I had to earn my way into becoming a summoning, kupo."

Aerith seemed ecstatic at the chance. "Okay then. Let's go catch some chocobos!"


	15. Chapter 15

**Another chapter is here.**

 **Kazeshuriken: And more you shall see.**

 **Andrew MacKenzie: True true.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Kweh!" cried out Crimson's chocobo as it twisted around and flapped its wings. The others had caught good chocobos, content with either preening themselves or being patted and complimented. Hers was a spoiled one, slightly more obese and longer than the others.

"You can have more when we're done." She wavered and then steadied herself atop it. The larger bird constantly jerked around while she was mounted on it, in order to coax more Gyashl Greens out of her before it would behave. "Honestly, you've already eaten more than twice the others. Isn't that enough?"

Evidently not, considering it used its flexible neck to crane around and jab at her foot with its beak.

"Hey!" She pulled her foot back, thankful she had gotten a pair of ankle-high boots before they left Kalm. Her glare at her mount shifted towards Aerith and Tifa when she heard giggling. "It's not funny."

"Kweh!" Another peck and jerk. "Kweh, kweh!"

"Fine, you win!" She reached into a pouch, grabbed a handful of the foul-smelling greens, and tossed them on the ground in front of her. "There. Happy?"

Indeed, it trilled happily and settled down long enough to start pecking at the greens, tearing into them and taking them into its gullet.

 _"Spoiled bird,"_ she mumbled under her breath as thoughts of Chocobo Jerky came to mind. While she had never thought ill of them before, this one had _earned_ her ire. Not to mention they would probably be able to eat off this one for a good two weeks with how plump it was.

"Are you sure you don't want to trade?" Cloud asked, sitting stride his own chocobo. Its feathers were somewhat darker, marking it as older than the others, and it carried both him and their supplies tied on its back. There was just a note of concern in his voice as Cloud continued. "We could probably get another if we wait long enough."

She shook her head. "No, this one will have to do. For all of the stubbornness and gluttony it has, it's the only one that can and will let Red XIII ride on it. Besides, we're too far from where they gather and we've wasted enough time. I just need it to behave long enough to get us to the mine entrance."

At present, the party of five stood at the edge of the marshlands that dwelled between them and the entrance to the Mythril Mine. They had gotten their chocobos using the Chocobo Lure Materia and then practiced riding around under Mog's guidance before the summoning dissipated back into its materia. They were all set to go into the water now.

"Remember, we stay in the shallows of the marsh," Crimson told the party as Red XIII leapt behind her, onto the plump mount. It squawked in surprise. "Their legs won't be bothered by so little water and they can move faster. We'll take it at an easy pace at first to avoid wearing them out, but the moment we run into trouble we go full throttle."

Cloud's gently prodded the underside of his chocobo with his heel. Being an older one that had been ridden before, at least according to Mog, it interpreted the signal to move correctly and waded into the water.

"Are you ready?" Aerith asked her mount, a younger and bold one. It cocked its head and ruffled its wings just a bit, puffing up its feathers in the process. She stroked its head gently in turn. "Then let's go."

Tifa ushered hers to follow, the coarse feathers grating against her legs as it strutted with purpose and confidence. She took up a position next to Aerith, and both of them were behind Cloud, leaving Crimson and Red XIII to take up the rear.

The water in the marshes was dingy brown, sparse with grove trees that stood out proudly reaching for the sun as it shone down. There was little-to-no movement aside from the chocobos as they advanced at a gentle pace, not over-taxing themselves while their riders kept their eyes and ears out for any looming threat. They had gone maybe a full fifteen minutes before Red XIII bristled.

His ears caught the sound of the water around them being disturbed, displaced as a number of creatures lurked beneath the two feet deep murky water. They were closing in fast from the rear. He sounded the alarm. "They're coming!"

"Move!" Cloud ordered, taking his word for it. He bade his chocobo to run faster, its powerful legs splashing the water furiously as its talons sank into the silt and then pushed out, scattering clumps as it darted forward. Tifa's and Aerith's did the same, keeping pace with his.

Being unmotivated or unaware, Crimson's own chocobo continued to drag its feet despite its rider's protests until it spotted the first of the Midgar Zoloms closing in. They were all snakelets judging by their size of three or so feet, relatively young but just as deadly in the numbers they boasted. It quickly decided that it would be in its best interest to go faster and took off just like the rest.

"Oh sure, now you can run faster!" Crimson braced tighter as it sped forward, taking a glance behind her to see the snakelets still tailing them. She entertained the thought of using the Lightning Materia but decided against it while they were traversing the water too. The conducted electricity would likely injure all of them, if not outright kill.

Red XIII, fortunately, had no such qualms. He growled as he used the Fire Materia that he had on his headdress, next to the one they had labeled Enemy Skill, and spat out a ball of fire that slammed into the water behind them, causing it to erupt in spouts of steam as it instantly boiled and evaporated. The snakelets responded by slowing until out of his range and then started spreading out.

Cloud caught a splash coming from his left and pulled out his new sword. He swung the blade at an angle and cleaved at one the larger ones that flung itself out of the water. Green and purple visceral fluids painted the blade and his mount, which shrieked in alarm. He spotted another soon after. "Tifa, your right!"

"I know!" Tifa raised her hand and called forth the power of the Ice Materia she had on her. White and blue frost gathered on her palm and condensed into a sphere. She let the spell fly to her right and a patch of the marshwater quickly froze over on contact, catching three of the younger serpents pursing her and forcing the rest to deviate for precious few seconds.

Aerith used her new staff as a bludgeon, trying to discourage them from closing in. The weapon wasn't made to be used single-handedly, so it was ineffective in doing any real damage. But her chocobo made up for the lackluster defense by being quick on its feet.

The next five minutes were tense as they continued to stave off the attack. Fire, ice, and steel dwindled their numbers and held them at bay. But the snakelets refused to simply leave and seek out easier prey, continuously pursing them without rest.

"Why the hell are they so aggressive!?" Tifa asked out loud as she fired another Ice spell. It hit the water at the base of a thin tree whose roots pushed against the bottom of the marsh. Rime quickly covered it and sank deep into its core, leaving it brittle enough that the wood broke apart and collapsed.

"Something's not right!" Red XIII spoke. "There's bloodlust here, enough that they are willing to throw away their lives mindlessly!"

A loud and shrill cry of agony sounded from chocobo that Aerith was on and it stumbled as one of the serpents managed to sink its fangs just above its leg. The snakelet thrashed around, tearing further and further into the muscles with every motion it made. The young chocobo couldn't bear with it and warbled in anguish, tripping as the leg gave out and throwing its rider forward.

Aerith reached out, grasping desperately for anything to break her fall. A strong hand grasped her wrist and swung her in a pendulum motion so that she landed onto the back of another galloping mount. Aerith clung to Tifa's waist tightly and let out a shuddering breath while the death throes of the chocobo filled the air.

It was heartrending to listen as it was torn into bits, yet none of them could cover their ears as it struggled to regain its legs, flapped its wings, thrashed around—doing anything it could to drive off the ravenous creatures biting it endlessly. Blood quickly painted its once-golden plumage from the numerous wounds. Then the cries stopped entirely and the only movement came from the still-biting Midgar Zoloms.

 _"I'm so sorry,"_ Aerith whispered to her fallen mount as she tightened her arms around Tifa and rested her head against her back. The tears that followed as the sound of flesh being apart and devoured grew distant stained her savior's white shirt.

"Their numbers have been reduced somewhat," Red XIII noted, watching as some of the marsh-dwelling serpents doubled back and congregated at the large bundle meat and feathers left behind.

"We'll be more likely to get away then, right?" Crimson asked, the tone of her voice cold yet shaking as she did so. She tried to look at it as a silver-lining, and they needed all the reprieves they could get considering the sheer numbers they were dealing with. If the chocobos became completely exhausted they'd be overrun in no time.

"No," he said bluntly. "There are still too many coming, and our strength is wavering. We won't make it at this rate."

Crimson it gritted her and then concentrated on the Sense Materia she had mastered. Information flood her mind—water depth, speed, stamina, weaknesses—and she took all of that information to come up with a plan.

"Use that missile spell as far ahead of us as you can where the water is deepest!" She ordered Red XIII. "Lockhart, use the highest level Ice spell you can and fire it after the missiles—create a platform the chocobos can land on!"

Red XIII unleashed the Enemy Skill: Matra Magic and missile-constructs flew forward into the depths ahead, rupturing into small explosions beneath the surface that made the water rise and mixed with loose silt. Ice engulfed it before it could settle, freezing it solid in an instant. The frozen section of water rose as the displaced water that hadn't been caught by the spell rushed in beneath it and filled the pockets of air to push it up.

The chocobos leapt on top of the three-foot high mini-glacier and clawed furiously to stop as they slid into the center of it. Crimson then unleashed the Bolt 2 spell into the water past the edge. Tendrils of lighting spread like the forked branches of ever-growing trees and covered the surface of the water. The edges of the ice platform crackled and collapsed as the lighting tongues stroked at the edges, unable to climb it.

The few snakelets that managed to jump out of the water and loitered on the edges of the platform fell with the chunks of ice and were electrocuted as well. The electricity eventually faded and charred corpses floated up in the water around them. They were bloated from the gases released as their inner organs boiled within their skin.

The party watched through the shimmering waves of heat rising from the dirty water in ribbons for any signs of life. Nothing emerged after a solid minute. They dismounted only for the chocobos to huddle together, cooing softly among themselves.

"What's wrong with them?" Crimson asked. Even hers, the stubborn thing that it was, had joined the others for the strange ritual.

"They're mourning for the one that I was on," Aerith explained, regret carried in her voice. It was clear she blamed herself. "It was the youngest… If I had something else I could have used, or did a better job…."

"You did the best you could." Tifa set a hand on her shoulder in an act of comfort. Aerith turned and laid her head on the other girl's shoulder instead. She resorted to patting her on the back. "It was a bad situation all around. Right, Red?"

Red XIII nodded. "We were warned they would be aggressive, but not to that extent or in such numbers. One loss was fortunate, and the last attack likely left too many dead for another assault of that nature. Things are much more likely to proceed smoothly now."

"Then do we let them rest and mourn for now, or press ahead?" Cloud asked, looking over their supplies mounted on the rear of the chocobo he had ridden. "The Weapon Shopkeeper said there was a pair of adults bigger than those were. I doubt they'll keep away for long with all of their children dead."

Crimson ran her hands through her hair and sighed. "We need to time to catch our breath and replenish our own strength, just to be sure. We'll feed them, give them ten minutes to rest their legs, and then we keep going."

 **[-oOo-]**

Reeve Tuesti was careful as he stepped around the debris that littered the ground of the Sector 6 Park. It hadn't been more than a few days since the plate fell now, and he had come down to assess the damage done personally to get an accurate estimation of what would be needed to rebuild it. Provided that wasn't an option, he could also see about renovating the park or the Sector 5 Slums to house those who had lost their homes long-term.

Some part of him recognized the futility of it. The President before had made no effort in repairing the Sector 6 Plate after the previous incarnation of AVALANCHE's actions, nor the Mako Reactors due to the current one's actions, and had personally approved of the destruction of the entirety of Sector 7. If he had to be frank, he was glad the cheap, heartless bastard was dead.

Would his son be any different? Likely not when it came to the common folks of Midgar. But Reeve could still try to give something back after all that they had taken.

He had dressed down, obviously. It wouldn't do for someone in a pressed suit and tie to come down to the slums at the moment. He settled for a shirt and hooded jacket to conceal his face. He also had a gun, just in case he ran into monsters.

Reeve was careful not to disturb the memorial of sorts that had been built around the gate that had once led to Sector 7. It was composed of small things—candles, flowers, pictures, toys—each signifying the loss of a life that had done nothing to warrant their deaths. More proof of Shinra and AVALANCHE's sins.

He was about done when he saw a military vehicle drive through the gates leading to the Wall Market. That was strange. He decided to investigate and entered through the gates before they could close.

The vehicle drove past a crowd before coming to a stop at where Don Corneo's manor was. There had been talk about him going missing, but nothing proven. If that was true then, given the size of it, his manor could be used as a shelter. Reeve made a note of it for later.

To his surprise, Heidegger emerged from the vehicle with a few infantrymen while carrying a megaphone. The armed men stood at attention beside him as he raised it up and used it like a siren, sounding throughout the Wall Market and gathering a crowd. He waited for the crowd to thicken before he spoke.

"Proud Citizens of Midgar!" he announced. "To those of you who are unaware, I am the head of the Public Safety department of Shinra!"

The crowd began to murmur to themselves, with Reeve catching a number of opinions and complaints. Why was he here now? Why didn't they come sooner? What was Shinra doing about Sector 7?

Heidegger silenced them with the siren again before continuing. "As you know, several days ago, both Sector 7 and Shinra Headquarters came under attack by the violent terrorist organization known as AVALANCHE. In pursing their evil ambitions, they have killed countless men and women, including the good folks who served to keep the peace. This has delayed our response for the time being."

More murmurs, some doubts but most willing to believe. People needed someone to blame, and few served better than a terrorist organization. Just like that he could wipe the affair clean off his hands.

"We are working to solve this and aid will come, but it _will_ take time. However, for those willing to enlist into the Public Safety forces, not only will you be able prevent such tragedies from occurring again, but you'll also be able to provide for your families in these troubling times. We're recruiting any and all able-bodied men—"

Reeve's lips pursed thin as he continued to listen. Heidegger was taking advantage of the very people he consigned to death in order to fill in their depleted ranks. The fact that he could say that with a straight face left Reeve feeling disgusted and he turned to leave.

"Ah!" Only to bump into a woman and knock her grocery bag out of her hand. "Oh dear."

"My apologies, madam." He kneeled down and gathered the groceries that had been spilled, mostly canned goods. Nothing had been broken or ruptured, which was a relief. "Hmm… I should pick up a few cans myself. My mother's been stockpiling them since the reactor incident and I haven't seen her in some time."

"You should visit her as soon as possible then," the woman said. "A mother always misses their child once they've left. Few things are more painful than waiting for someone to return, and fear that they never will. I speak from personal experience."

"Perhaps I will then." He stood and handed her the bag. "Please accept my apologies again, Miss…"

"Gainsborough," she said, with a pleasant smile on her face. "Elmyra Gainsborough."


	16. Chapter 16

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken: Tough struggle in their journey. It is never easy.**

 **Andrew MacKenzie: Thank you.**

 **Bob the random: Thank you.**

 **Enjoy!**

The chocobos were cautious as they slowly gaited through the water, wary of any remaining zoloms after the death of one of their youngest. Their riders were equally cautious, eyes spanning the marsh for any sign of movement barring a bird above or buzzing insects. The muggy fog that seemed to have rolled in over the water only compounded their concerns, obscuring their view and the sun above greatly.

"Hmm…" Red XIII sounded, for the umpteenth time. It drew Crimson's attention, no longer able to ignore it.

"What's wrong?" she asked, turning her head around to face him. "You've been doing that for some time now."

"I feel like… I'm close to gaining something else," he explained. "Like when I perform my Sled Fang, but a different expression of my power. It's been this way since the chase earlier, once everything settled."

"Oh, it sounds like you're about ready to gain a new Limit Break," Aerith said, having been listening in. "The power simply hasn't taken

on a solid form yet, but the potential is there waiting for the right time."

"Is that so?" He looked pensive at the news. "I had been unaware of such a thing."

"Not surprising," Crimson said. "Most people don't get into nearly as much combat as we do, so they don't develop them. I don't even have a second one yet, though to be fair I've done more fighting in the last few days than I've done all my life. The conditions for unlocking them aren't really clear to anyone, but the Research Division has a hypothesis that they seem to be some combination of emotion, desire, and the situation being dire enough to warrant it."

"I see." He nodded his head. "You both have my thanks."

Crimson only turned her head back towards the front. Aerith, on the other hand, smiled and said, "No problem. Happy to help."

"Why is the fog so warm?" Tifa asked, changing the topic as the vapor brushed against her bare arms and calves. "I thought fog only comes around when it's cold or something?"

Aerith, sitting behind Tifa, leaned down far enough that Tifa reflexively braced her to keep her from falling over. Her slender fingers touch the water. It was… too warm. "The water feels like it's been heated, like a sauna."

Crimson pursed her lips at the thought. Why would the water be so heated? She was certain the combination of temperature-shifting ice and electricity wouldn't have spread this far into the marsh. Did this mean the lack of visibility was intentional?

"Something tells me we'll need to speed up," she mumbled. Her head turned back towards her rear-mounted companion. "Red XIII, keep your ears and nose on high-alert and tell us if _anything_ is near or changes."

The flame-tipped beast made a low noise, affirming the command. He raised his head and tried to sniff through the muggy and obscuring fog. "I hear something ahead," he said, mere seconds before the fog seemed to thicken as it billowed past them. "Like… flames hitting a large section of water, evaporating and boiling it instantly. This isn't fog, its steam!"

"We're curving around!" Crimson immediately ordered, motioning for her larger chocobo to do so. Unlike before, it listened and moved with haste right away. "Full-speed, weapons out!"

The others gave a small kick to their mounts and spurred them into following quickly, with Cloud's rushing ahead of Crimson's to take the lead, since it carried the lightest load in comparison to the double-mounted ones. About a minute afterwards a gale tore through the marsh, battering them with water, steam, and enough force to knock them all down with their mounts into the waist deep water. The chocobos panicked and fled, squawking in alarm and fear along the way.

The group got to their feet, weighed down by their soaked clothes. They wiped away the heated, dirty water that stung their eyes and reached for their weapons that slipped free. Then they looked up as a shadow was cast from a figure rising from the water abruptly.

Clashing viridian scales gleamed with a flaring hood as the serpent stood at least twenty-feet tall. More of its length was hidden by the water, the points of the tail stirring it up some distance away from where it poked its body out from beneath the murky surface. Its blue tongue flickered, tasting the air now devoid of the obscuring steam.

"This must be one of the adults," Tifa noted, focusing on her Ice Materia and feeling the power woven inside of it that she could call forth. No hesitation, no waiting, she called forth the strongest of Ice spells she could muster. Rime and frost gathered in between her palms and flew out like a cannon shell towards the giant serpent.

The Midgar Zolom moved its long, upper body to avoid the shot, slipping through the water at a quickened pace while a shrill, angry hiss came from its mouth. It leapt out of the water enough to skim the surface and attacked with lashing fangs towards the party. They moved, but the splash when it landed managed to carry the force through the water and swept them off their feet, splitting them up as skirted off in the distance for a second run.

"Shit!" The curse slipped out of Cloud's mouth on its own accord as he rose from the water a second time. "This battlefield is a disadvantage!"

Red XIII snarled, activating Matra Magic. Missile constructs formed and fired, moving erratically as they sailed forward through the air. Explosions threw up spouts of water as the large serpent managed to avoid the bulk, while a few caught it on the fringes of the blast radius. It still didn't slow down.

Without the use of her Thunder Materia, Crimson's contributions were limited to her Sense Materia and its input, aiding her in tracking it. She didn't dare use her Rekka without a clear shot and she couldn't take the level of damage any of the others could in close-combat, except for maybe Aerith. The first thing she realized was that they needed to lock down the angles of approach.

"Lockhart!" Crimson pointed at four points surrounding them. "Create ice barricades, use the lowest powered spell so the formation doesn't bleed over and freeze us as well."

She did so, narrowing the approach the giant serpent could take to intercept them without damaging itself. This created choke points, allowing them to target it more efficiently.

Red XIII opened fire with a Fire spell that hit near its body, barely hidden beneath the water. The scalding heat turned it to steam, and should have cooked the meat inside of it scaled skin. It seemed to pay it no mind as it rushed in to meet Cloud, who had the Mythril Saber at the ready.

Cloud met with the weight of its head as it tried to bite him, his sword knocking it askew as he put his enhanced strength into it. Crimson ordered him to move, which he did so by kicking off its body beneath the water and retreating in a single bound. Fire and ice hammered at the Midgar Zolom as it turned around, throwing up a wave of water at the defenders and smacking one with its tail while it targeted Cloud again.

 **[-oOo-]**

Bestial rage burned inside of Red XIII as he fired another Fire spell, his focus narrowing well into the heat of battle. He had been stricken by glancing wave from the giant serpent's body, and lashed at by its tail. The wounds had been healed by the shamaness that heard the planet's voice as his grandfather did, but the rage he felt remained.

He used it. He took that rage and the power welling up inside of him to perform the technique passed down his family line, used during the hunt against more ferocious and larger game. He tensed his legs as he was surrounded by the pale blue glow of energy and then shot forward like a shooting star.

The serpent let out a pained cry as the attack took a chunk of flesh, blood mixing into the water. It reared its head towards him for once and tried to bite into him. The water slowed him down enough that the fangs found his hind legs and sank into them, leaving a pained cry of his own to emerge as the creature used the grip to fling him out of the way while the swordsman cleaved a gash into its side.

He struggled to rise onto his legs only to buckle from the wound, his own blood mixing into the water around him. Healing light engulfed him as the shamaness healed his wounds again, staunching the flow of blood, soothing the pain, and re-knitting the muscle. He rose up once more to see that it caught the troubled swordsman in its mouth, holding him horizontally, and submerged its entire head into the water.

It was trying to drown him, bypassing the need to penetrate his flesh entirely. The female companions were trying to stop it, rushing in with the throwing weapon being used like a blade to stab into its head while the fighter used her fists to try and beat it into release him. They wouldn't succeed before he had drowned like that, and the creature ignored them as the swordsman continued to flail and fight for breath.

"MOVE!" barked Red XIII as he fired another salvo of Matra Magic at it. The swordsman was strong in body. He would survive as long as the shamaness was quick.

They saw the missiles incoming and dodged, while the stationary opponent provided for an excellent target with all the missiles hitting home and doing real damage for once. The explosions tore through the scales and it jerked back in agony, releasing the swordsman as it hissed in pain.

It reared around towards him again, and he stood ready to meet it… only for the Midgar Zolom to buckle as a very large chocobo with the strange moogle from before to land on its head. That… gave everyone pause. He briefly turned his head to see that the shamaness had its materia out, hoping to buy time perhaps as the swordsman climbed to his feet again.

The serpent's daze was short as it lifted its head and bit down into the feather and meat of the obese chocobo. The Midgar Zolom then thrashed it around until the giant chocobo popped like a balloon into motes of light rather than blood and feathers, leaving Mog without a mount and floating in the air. The serpent then huffed with a strong breath and blew it away, before turning its attention back to the swordsman rather than him.

As much as he hated to admit it that was fortunate, since the swordsman could still hold it at bay. Exhaustion of the mind had begun to set in for Red XIII. He had used magic too much. The body was willing to fight more, but his mind couldn't last past maybe three more spells at best. After that, he would be limited to claws and fangs again, which were hampered in this terrain and against an opponent of this size.

Red XIII, in a moment of weakness, could only think to himself how bad the situation was. This did not seem to be a fight they could win, and they could not flee in this terrain. At least… at least not all of them.

The enlarged serpent seemed to be after the swordsman more than the others. The bloodlust and hatred directed towards him was so clear and pure that it may as well have been holy. The shamaness had to devote the majority of her attention just to keep it from overwhelming him as he took hits from its head and body, the fangs occasionally scraping against his durable skin and leaving blood in its wake.

He could likely get away. It wanted the swordsman the most, more than willing to sacrifice one or two of them for the sake of bettering its chances of killing him, blinded by its hatred. More steam to obscure his movements with a Fire spell, and Red XIII could slip away unnoticed.

The very thought made him furious with himself. Though they were companions for such a short time, he owed them for freeing him from that madman and avenging his lost eye. He would not abandon them to die. Not like how his father abandoned their home and his mother.

Anger surged in Red XIII anew and turned inwards, the familiar power of the Limit Break returning. He prepared to go through with another Sled Fang, energy coiling around him and wreathing him in its pale blue glow… and then he stopped to think.

It wouldn't help. Yes, he could likely attack it again and damage it. But what then? He would be effectively useless with both it and his ability to use magic nearing its end. How would he defend them then?

Likewise, the rest of his party couldn't damage it faster than it could them, and they could barely defend fast enough to survive. The shamaness couldn't heal them fast enough either, approaching her own limits. Strength was not key, speed and defense was.

They needed to be faster to survive. He needed to be stronger to defend them. Faster, Stronger, _Faster, Stronger,_ **FASTER, STRONGER—!**

Something clicked that instant, born from the desperate desire. That shapeless power that had been inert before imprinted on that need and became an expression.

Red XIII was wreathed in a golden light that seemed to erupt from the ground beneath him. He bellowed, spreading that power to the rest of them and encasing them in the golden radiance as well. The water became less of a hindrance to their movements, and they could think faster, react faster, mover faster.

It was a high that put the fight back into to them, compounded as the tactician used her own Limit Break. The combined boosts changed the flow of the battle, with the swordsman's blade finding it easier to open up its scales, the fighter's fists meeting with exposed flesh to strike deep the nerves and innards, and Red XIII's claws and fangs seemed to find just the right spots to leave it riddled with gouges torn out of it.

An angry sound bubbled up from the serpent soon enough. It rose up further, rising to easily three stories and looking down on them from the trees. Scarlet flames and heat pooled in its mouth, readying some sort of attack. His instincts told him it would be brutal, but his flesh was tempered by the same light that only bolstered the speed of the others.

He would survive. So he leapt towards it unafraid with a Fire spell at the ready and let their flames clash. The resulting blaze swallowed them both.

 **[-oOo-]**

"RED!" Tifa screamed as she covered her eyes when the two attacks met. It was reflexive as the blinding light and heat from the blasts washed over them all. The concussive force alone hit like a solid wall, but to her surprise the flames didn't hurt as much.

She looked down around her neck to see the Talisman taken from the lab where they fought the monster had a faint glow. The effects had seemed to have shielded her from the damage to a greater extent than the others. That was more than she could say Red XIII, his body held in Cloud's arms and barely breathing while he himself was smoldering with minor burns.

A warble left the Midgar Zolom that still drew breath, wavering in the air with large patches of its scales melted and its face charred. Despite all of that, it still looked down at Cloud. It _still_ wanted to kill him rather than run away.

There was a whirl of steel and an angry hiss as the giant shuriken was flung, hitting its yellow eye on the right side and embedding itself. The pain was enough to stagger it where it was. That was the opening she needed.

Tifa's muscles tensed as fiery light engulfed her, the power of the Limit Break coming to the forefront. Still swaddled in the radiance of the boosts from the ex-Turk and Red XIII, she clenched her fist as she kicked off the bottom of the marsh, upturning the silt and mud while she charged and jumped. One chambered leg found its belly and then she used it as a springboard to place a kick that shattered the underside of its jaw and kept going.

A _little more_ , she thought as her momentum finally stalled above the serpent that fixed its remaining eye on her. Frost gathered in her hands as it lunged up with its permanently gaping mouth. The mid-tier Ice 2 spell was then fired down and jagged crystals of ice and white rime encompassed it, freezing it in place like a pillar that she set her foot on long enough to jump back down. She landed in the water with a splash, just as a soothing wind blew through the marshes and relieved her of the aches in her muscles.

"Tifa!" She turned her head to see Cloud rushing towards her, having left Red XIII in Aerith's care while the ex-Turk was reeling back her shuriken with the wire it was attached to. "Give me a lift!"

"Okay!" She obliged, cupping her hands as he set a foot on them and then tossing him into the air as hard as she could. The sun gleamed almost blindingly off his sword as he chambered it while rising above the frozen Midgar Zolom.

He brought it down with a yell, dragging the blade as he fell through its belly and underside until he hit the water below. The wound was too severe for its body to endure, leaving its innards to slowly spill out while the ice covering its body crackled and broke off. It fell down slowly for its size, a death throe resounding through the marshes as it finally hit the water.

Its massive-size created a large wave that towered over the party, forcing Tifa to brace herself as it hit. It still swept her footing away from her, leaving her to tumble within the surge that resulted. It made her dizzy as she was carried, bumping her head along the bottom of the marsh a few times as she spun until disturbance settled down after a few seconds.

She broke the surface with a gasp for air, swallowing some of the water in the process. She coughed and spat it out as her feet found purchase and she stood. Her fingers parted the wet strands of hair clinging to her face and covering her eyes to look around. "Is everyone okay?"

Various responses from the others told her they had all made it.

She looked towards where the Midgar Zolom laid. It reminded her of a fallen tree, with half of its body hidden beneath the water. She sighed with a surprisingly haggard breath at the sight.

It was finally over.


	17. Chapter 17

**Another chapter is here.**

 **Kazeshuriken: More it will be.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Someone make sure it's dead," was the first thing Crimson said as the marsh seemed to settle down. Sure, the giant snake lying like a fallen tree was liable to really be dead. But she was wet, filthy, and still riled up from the adrenaline. The last thing she wanted was anymore surprises.

Cloud obliged wordlessly, jabbing his Mythril Saber into the skull and twisting it until the hard sound of the bones breaking apart and sickening squelch of brains being mashed reached their ears. It wasn't getting up after that.

"Thank you." Crimson exhaled and ran her fingers through her wet hair, letting it cling to itself rather than obscure her face. "Okay. That's… that could have gone better, but at least we're all alive."

"We still lost all our supplies," Cloud pointed out.

Crimson could only shake her head at the loss. "We'll never find them in this marsh and the mines are just ahead. We'll just have to get through quickly and resupply on the other side, around Junon."

"Don't be so sure about that, kupo~!" They all turned their heads to see Mog had returned after having been blown into the distance. He was joined by the chocobos that had run off before, including Cloud's. The moogle floated towards Aerith and waved proudly. "Thanks for not cancelling the summoning, kupo. I landed near them and gathered them up again, kupo!"

Aerith held her hand out so that Mog could land on it. The moogle must've been surprisingly light, given her arm didn't seem to buckle. "Is the one you rode on okay?"

"It's fine, kupo!" Mog assured her. "Our bodies are forged from your magic while our consciousness dwells in the materia, so even if our bodies get destroyed we can come back, kupo. Though, it will take time, kupo."

Crimson couldn't pay any more attention to the moogle and its summoner when the rotund chocobo she had been riding on approached and lightly jabbed her with its beak. It let out an inquiring chirp and then ruffled its wings. She assumed that meant it wanted more Gysahl Greens.

"Fine," she huffed, less bitter than before. They were almost out of the marshes anyway. She fished out the pouch and pulled some greens out for it.

"Kweh~!" It nipped at the greens in her hand until they gone. Then it cooed, brushing its head against her arm for a stroke. She obliged it before mounting it with Red XIII following suit.

"Let's get to the mines, everyone."

 **[-oOo-]**

In Shinra HQ, Tseng cast his stern gaze down at the file that Elena handed him and asked, "You're certain this was here an hour ago?"

She stood at attention, tense. It was an excited tension. "Positive, Sir."

He couldn't help but notice how proud she sounded. Part of him wanted to tell her that it should have been brought to his attention thirty-minutes ago at best. Reno would have had it in his hands not even five minutes.

He quashed it down. Elena was still new at this and they had gone through a very trying time. This was not the ideal time and place for a rookie to be broken in, but he was stuck with those that remained and she was at least eager. That she could take pride in.

 _Approve, but remind her to be more prompt,_ he concluded in his head before he spoke. "Good work, but next time be faster. The longer it takes for the information to reach us, the shorter the window of opportunity."

"I'll do so, Sir."

He dismissed her and then made his way to the elevator. It wasn't as sleek as before, with the windows covered by boards after they'd been shattered. Barebones steel and wires connected and made it work, even if ugly. That had to be good enough.

He rapped on the metal door that had been installed on Rufus' office out of courtesy and then entered at the new President's beckoning. Rufus was on the phone, his face fixed in a frown as he listened to the other end. He held a hand up to inform Tseng to remain silent and then gestured for him to close the distance and hand him the paperwork. The Turk did so without a word, and Rufus looked it over with a glance before speaking into the phone.

"No. We don't have the resources to spare for that, Scarlet. Make do with what you have on-hand." He hung up the phone without another word, cutting off whatever was being said on the other end, and turned to face Tseng. "Hojo is at Costa del Sol right now?"

Tseng nodded. "How do you want us to approach this?"

Rufus drummed his fingers on the desk, thinking. "We go soft to start with since we don't want him aware. He's lounging around? Station guards at every exit to that city so that he doesn't slip away, and then have plain-clothes soldiers stay close to him. What of the other targets?"

"Sephiroth has not been spotted," Tseng informed him. "As for the others, we've tracked down the vehicle they've taken but have found a conflicting set of tracks. We're looking into it now, but it's possible they've split up. The Ancient was spotted in Kalm for a time and I suspect that they may be planning to use the Mythril Mines to get to Junon. I've sent Reno and Rude for reconnaissance to be certain."

Rufus nodded and picked up the phone again, dialing a number and waiting for a response. "Heidegger. We're speeding up the trip to Junon. Send word, and have them be on the lookout for the priority targets."

 **[-oOo-]**

Cloud dismounted his chocobo once they arrived at the entrance to the mines, setting foot on the solid ground beneath them for the first time in hours. It wasn't as much a comfort as he had hoped. It couldn't be with the stench of death in the air, wafting from the corpse of a Midgar Zolom, equal to that they had just slain, that was left impaled upon a dead tree.

"What could have done this?" Aerith asked as she looked up towards it.

"Give me a moment," he said. His—no, Zack's memories showed they had been taught how to investigate wounds and injures to piece together what happened in a battle or to hunt down monsters. If whatever did this was still around, they might be in for another fight. "Tifa, can you get the bags while I do. I don't think the chocobos want to be here any longer than they need to."

"Sure." She hopped down from her own mount and headed towards his, untying the ropes and straps.

Cloud approached, holding his breath and swatting at the flies that loitered around the corpse. Their clearing revealed a neat groove in the scales, done by a sharp blade. Judging by the way the wound flowed it was a clean, single stroke. Morbidly, he pushed a finger into the wound with a wet sound.

"Ew," he heard from behind him. One of the girls.

The cut was deep, with the opening being wider and it closing in deeper inside where the blade cut through the muscles. It was a thin blade, thinner than most that he—Zack knew of. To make a wound of this size it had to be long as well. At least as long as….

He pulled his finger out in disbelief and ran over to the water to clean it, shaking his head. He didn't want to believe it, but it made sense. He knew what that blade was like firsthand, a single stroke would be more than enough, and there were no more wounds barring where the tree impaled it.

"You look pale," Aerith said. "Are you okay?"

He shook his head as he finished cleaning his hands and brushing them dry on his pants. When he turned back he saw them all staring at him. More questions from his actions. He took a deep breath.

"The wound here were caused by Sephiroth's sword," he finally said. "If I had to guess, he came through here for some reason and it attacked him. He didn't take it seriously or it would have been in pieces. Maybe a single, off-hand slash cut into it and displaced the air at the same time, sending it flying until it was impaled."

The others looked horrified at that. He didn't blame them. They fought tooth and nail just to survive the one that had ambushed them, using every advantage they could, and a spur of luck with Red XIII learning his Limit Break, and they had _barely_ made it. On a positive note, they didn't have to deal with a second one—or likely _any_ given they had probably put the species on the endangered list.

"That would explain the hostility," Red XIII said as he walked forward. "During the gunfire when that man appeared, I caught the scent of mako wafting from him. It is similar to yours and, to a lesser extent, the driver who brought us to Kalm."

It clicked easy enough. Whatever they did to him was similar to the SOLDIER treatment, leaving them infused with mako. All of the Midgar Zoloms picked up the scent and acted on their rage at their loss by trying to kill him in a blind rush.

"Does that mean he might be waiting in the mines?" Tifa asked, with a barely noticeable hitch in her voice. Was it fear, anger, or both?

Cloud shook his head. "It's rotting already, and a good portion of its insides have either been picked at by scavenger birds or putrefied. It's been dead for some time now, and I can't think of a reason for Sephiroth to stick around. This was likely done on his way to Midgar."

"The scent I mentioned is not here either," Red XIII added. "Regardless, perhaps we should move on. I fear this smell will make me ill if I remain too long."

"Right." He went over to where the bags were and gave the chocobo he rode a pat on its beak. "Thanks for everything."

It nodded its head and turned to go back in the direction they came. Aerith's own was enjoying the attention she and Tifa showered it with, telling it how it did well, while Crimson's own was enjoying the last of the greens she had brought while forcing its head against her stomach in expectation. She rolled her eyes and placated it until Cloud's chocobo made a call and they both went after it.

Boldly, the party stepped into the Mythril Mines.

 **[-oOo-]**

Reno sat down in the shadow of a tunnel nestled high above the exit of the mines, holding headphones connected to a listening device fixed with a small dish to pick up sounds easier. Rude was next to him, leaning against the wall. The pair had been sent to track down the Ancient, and this was the most feasible way for the group that they were in to do so.

He imagined that they'd taken chocobos to get across the marsh, given how the kid in the barn had mentioned it. The Turks had set out for the mines that moment, but there was still no sign of them. So they waited.

In a worst case scenario, the giant snake that they saw lurking under the water had gotten them. That would be… _troubling_ , but it was out of their hands if that happened. When there were aspects of the job that they had perfect control over, they ensured that it was flawless. Outside factors were another story.

They stirred when a stream of flames billowed out of the entrance to the tunnels, knocking the charred remains of Castanets into the exit chamber. Right on cue the party of five emerged. They looked worn out and wet, but the Ancient was there, carrying what looked to be some kind of materia.

The creature put its nose into the air and sniffed, alerting the others to their presence on the platform. Crimson turned towards them, no doubt activating that Mastered Sense Materia that she loved so much, with her Rekka in hand. Reno immediately pushed Rude to the side as the blade landed to the side of his head, buried in the wall.

"Reno!" she yelled. The anger in her voice was palpable. He guessed she was still mad about the whole 'trapping her in a Pyramid and leaving her to die' thing.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, now!" He raised his hands up in a placating gesture. "There's no need for violence here."

They begged to differ as she jerked back the Rekka with a wire, doing so in a way that a small bit of the stone smacked him in the face. The terrorist that Rude had a crush then on extended her hand towards the Ancient, who gave her the materia. Then her fist lashed out and he doubled over as if he was punched straight in the gut.

He realized it was a Long Range Materia, warping space so that the attack connected even at a distance. It was a contrast to Crimson's own use, rendering the distance negligible so that any throw would likely reach as long as she had the wire to retrieve it. Both would be pains in the ass to deal with.

"There's no need to be _rude_." That was the signal. Rude pulled out a canister and tugged the pin off. "After all, both of us are after Sephiroth for the moment—enemy of my enemy and all. We just thought we'd enlighten you to that fact and tell you to keep the Ancient out of trouble."

"Flashbang!" Crimson warned as Rude then tossed it into the air so that it was over their heads. The canister exploded in a flash of blinding light, eliciting screams from the party. It must've stung something unholy considering their eyes had been adapted to the darkness of the cave and it was night by now.

"See ya around, Cissnei!" Reno told them as he and Rude made their escape to the perch where their personal escape craft was. They'd found them and confirmed the Ancient's position. Their job was done for now.

 **[-oOo-]**

A kunoichi dressed lightly frowned to herself as she rolled around a materia in her hand, one of many that she kept in a pouch. Her collection had been growing. Yet, there was one missing—her Long Range Materia.

She clicked her tongue when she realized she must've dropped it in the mines while hiding there from a Junon patrol. That meant she'd have to go back in there and find it herself. She rose to her feet and prepared to jump down when she heard voices coming from the mine's exit.

A group appeared. They were too different to be with Shinra, no uniform and a variety of weapons. The one with glowing eyes was a SOLDIER though, like the one she'd met years ago and the ones who turned her home into the tourist trap it was. That bothered her a bit, but she'd stolen from their kind easy enough when she used the Seal Materia to knock them out.

"Damn them," one of them said, a long-haired woman holding her hand to her eyes as the rest filed out of the cavern and into the fresh night air in a less than pleasant mood. "What were they even doing there?"

The young kunoichi frowned. That outfit left little to the imagination, with the shirt practically hugging her well-endowed chest. She couldn't help but look down at herself and feel a pang of envy.

 _It doesn't matter_ , she told herself. _They'd only slow me down, and make it harder to disguise myself when sneaking around_. She nodded to reaffirm that thought and instead focused on the materia she had—namely the one that she had lost. Good, it saved her the trouble of backtracking.

"Reconnaissance," the red-head said, blinking away something in her eyes. "Their equipment was meant for that. They probably were here on orders to keep an eye out for Aerith, otherwise they would have brought backup to attack us."

The kunoichi noticed she carried a weapon similar to her own, a Shuriken. But, in her mind, the better one was the one who was raised in the country that they were originally made in and trained in their ways. She'd had one in her hands since she could walk, so she doubted she would lose if it came down to a fight.

"So what he said about Sephiroth was right then?" the guy with hair like a chocobo asked.

"I don't think he was lying." She looked between chocobo-hair and the big-booby girl. "They know your past and what happened in Nibelheim. Revenge is a very big motivator, and if we kill him or he kills us, that's one less problem with no resources lost as long as Aerith is alive."

"Worrying about it solves nothing at present," said the girl with a staff.

"Indeed." She blinked at the new voice. There wasn't anyone else around. Just those four and that weird animal. "For now, we need to recuperate. We've been fighting non-stop and haven't recovered from it all."

 _No way_ , she thought. It was a talking lion with a flaming tail? And it had materia too? Who were these people?

"You're right," the red-haired girl said, pointing towards her. Or rather the woods themselves. "We'll hide there and set up camp. Our supply bags were water-proof, so everything should be dry. We start a fire that doesn't make too much smoke, dry ourselves off, and set up a rotation so we can get some shut-eye."

They all agreed and started towards her section of the woods, giving the kunoichi reason to move. She had masked her scent and covered her tracks well to escape her pursuers from Junon, because apparently the military there didn't take having their materia stashes raided well—not her fault those locks were flimsy—but she needed to get into a good position to avoid being spotted before she could move.

She would wait for them to settle in and relax before she would make her move. Ideally, she would catch them off-guard and no one would be the wiser she was even there. The pouch carrying her materia would be heavier by the time the night ended, and her homeland would be a step closer to regaining their lost glory.

That thought in mind, Yuffie Kisaragi disappeared into the shadows of the trees with a smile on her face.


	18. Chapter 18

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken: Yuffie is here and she is about to do what is best for Wutai.**

 **patrick the almighty observer: Barret and his daughter is alive. And Yuffie will learn her lesson when she steal on a certain individual.**

 **Beloved Daughter: Thank you.**

 **Enjoy!**

Yuffie sat nestled within the darkness of the canopy, downwind of the night breeze even though she covered her scent up as a precaution. Wutai had to deal with guard hounds during the war, which had a nasty habit of ferreting out their ninjas in disguise when it came to infiltration. They had been successful in developing countermeasures, though the war had ended poorly overall.

The strange party of travelers she had been stalking made their way deep enough into the woods that no stray party would see the orange glow of the fire as it crackled softly in a small clearing. The way the fire had been built, inside of a pit, ensured that it could be easily snuff and the smoke kept low. They were experienced in traveling stealthily then, a contrast to Shinra's standard dogs of war.

They had set up three tents as well, but no one was in them. The busty girl sat next to the staff-user on one side of the fire, while the talking creature was on the other. It was lying down with its paws crossed beneath its head, breathing softly as though in a light sleep.

The chocobo-haired guy was polishing his two swords closer to the tent, now on the larger of the two after he finished the mythril one. He seemed to be deep in thought as he ran his fingers across the surface of the blade and lowered his eyes. He was unaware that the red-haired woman was looking at him every now and again, lips pressed thin like she wanted to say something before she shook her head and turned her attention back to a map.

They were all exhausted from the look of it. That was good for Yuffie, who rolled a pair of materia in her right palm. One was the Seal Materia, which had access to the Sleep and Silence spells. The other was called the All Materia, which allowed her spell to encompass a wide area of effect.

These two materia made her thefts so much easier. While she knew for a fact that she was strong, Yuffie didn't want to fight any of them if she could help it. The Wutai way was to be sneaky, subtle, and take every advantage you could get to go for your enemy's throat. Ideally, they should never see you, a belief she subscribed to whole-heartedly.

She cast Sleep and watched as the group, already exhausted as they were, slumped down and collapsed. The red-haired one seemed to tense, as though fighting the effects, but fell down as well while reaching for her shuriken. Yuffie waited for a minute to ensure they were asleep deep enough before she hopped down and approached.

Her eyes fell over the large selection of materia she had to choose from, every single one of them carrying at least one. She decided to go for the ones of the lion-creature's headdress since they seemed the most interesting. The kunoichi walked over and reached down when she heard a footfall on the ground and turned in time to see the red-head thrusting a kick.

The armguard she wore soaked the hit as she brought into a guard position, sending her skirting back a few feet and buying her time to see that lighting was starting to form in the other woman's hands. The bolt jumped towards her and met her armguard again, making the metal hot as the current entered her body and then seeped into the ground with only mild discomfort because she guarded.

Yuffie cast Silence before she could get another shot off, banking on whatever resistance she had to the Sleep spell didn't transfer over. It worked. The woman clinched her head, shaking it to try and rid the effect fogging over her ability to connect to the materias she owned. The kunoichi stuck out her tongue and then fled into the woods, considering this a lost cause.

The red-head gave chase.

 **[-oOo-]**

Reeve watched from his window as the newest recruits, plucked from the slums at the promise of money to support their families, continued to run laps around the building. It had been six hours since they started, and Heidegger had no intention of letting the stop anytime soon. The man loitered, yelling at them with a megaphone about how worthless they were and could quit anytime they wanted if they wanted their families to starve.

Families he had put into those circumstances to begin with. It was clear he wanted to break them down, crushing whatever semblance of what they were into something malleable that would unfailingly do as told. Talk about a having your cake and eating it.

Reeve closed his blinds, having seen enough, and turned his attention the source of the glow in his room. He was going over some rudimentary computer files that had been salvaged from the attack, thinking about his next play. Midgar was a city that was dying in its own hubris, and that of the company he served. He couldn't trust Rufus to reform it, nor could he expect the same from whoever his successor was.

The entire company had to be uprooted, but that was far easier thought than done. He didn't say it out-loud when the chances of being overheard meant it would likely end up with him in a prison cell and at the mercy of 'Kyahaha' and 'Gyahaha'. He needed resources, manpower, and an army if he was being honest.

His thoughts went back to the new recruits and the idea that they could be the means of doing so. But they were being told they worthless enough that they'd think it was true soon enough. Who else was there… the ones who broke into the building ahead of time?

He checked the files. If he recalled right, that one girl that the previous President had been obsessed about, the Ancient they called her, was Aerith… Gainsborough. The same last name as the woman he'd met in the Wall Market. They had her listed as the girl's adoptive mother.

If she had some way of contacting them, it was feasible that they could be useful in dealing with Shinra. The question was how could he meet with her without attracting attention or suspicion?

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson wanted nothing more than to sleep as she chased the Wutai-girl into the darkness. She was fairly sure that she was operating alone, having been the only one who came into the camp when the others succumbed to the Sleep spell. Her training kicked in and kept her awake, but she pretended to fall down to see who had been responsible.

The others would wake up in time, but for now she had to keep following whoever the girl who broke into their camp was. She doubted Shinra hired her, given they had been in war against her people not too many years ago. But they lacked personnel after everything up to this point, so it wasn't impossible to think they'd learned to outsource.

Limited to eyesight while the effects of the Seal spell lingered, Crimson had to work to keep the girl in view while it was dark out. Letting her out of her sight would mean that she could get the drop on her in this sort of environment. Of course, she seemed to realize the same thing and pulled out a materia from her pouch as she turned around. It spat out a stream of fire that flared in the darkness, stinging her eyes.

Crimson blinked away the pain to find that the Wutai-girl was gone at a glance. Her head spun at the sound of something moving to her left, then her right. A flicker of movement in the corner of her eye had her spin in that direction with her Rekka at the ready. Suddenly she was in pain, staggering forward as something hit her from behind.

She turned to see the girl there, an armguard clad fist extended after hitting her in the back. The mystery ninja held a large shuriken out, settled into a stance, and gestured for her to come with her armored hand. Crimson attached the wire to her Rekka just as the effect of Seal wore off, activated the Sense Materia, and leapt into the fray.

The two shuriken met with the sharp ends scraping against each other, sparking and briefly illuminating their wielder's faces. Crimson went wide with slash, leaving her opponent to lean back and then swing her own down. She pivoted on her front leg, allowing her to get off angle as the attack left the girl moving forward.

She was good though. She carried through with the motion into a front-flip that allowed her to nearly clip Crimson jaw with her foot on the way up and around, forcing her to dodge it. The materia came up again and a tongue of flames followed, forcing her to dodge-roll into a crouch.

Crimson threw her shuriken, only for the girl to cut the wire with her own and charge forward. Lightning then. She cast Bolt from her outstretched palm, aimed at the ground at the girl's feet. The spray of dirt from the impact halted her advance and took her sight from her, allowing Crimson to move in.

The mystery ninja swung the shuriken down, but Crimson brought her forearm up and blocked just under her wrist. The shuriken halted, and Crimson grabbed it to put her into a lock that would have broken her arm if she hadn't dropped her weapon and rolled with it. Now both of them were disarmed, so they took up one another's discarded weapon.

It'd be wrong to say that the next exchange between them was even. Crimson was older than her by a few years at least and stronger physically, but the girl was faster and _skilled_. More than that, Crimson was tired after everything they'd done that day and needed to rest.

She needed to settle this. Weapons wouldn't be enough. She needed to take the girl's materia. Crimson reached for them….

And pulled back when she noticed the input from her own materia had faded. She looked down to see that it was gone from her Mythril Bangle. The sound of laughter afterwards told her what happened and she glared at the source.

The little thief held up her Sense Materia, having stolen it in their last exchange. That was fine. Crimson held up the girl's pouch that had once been nestled behind her, having done the same. The flustered look on the girl's face brought a bit of a smile on her own. Angered, the girl activated the Sense Materia… and immediately regretted it.

"Ahhh! Make it stop!" There was a reason that you didn't use someone else's mastered materia. They grew alongside their users, and she had that one since she was in training. The mystery ninja dropped the materia and held her head, staggering on her feet.

Crimson was decisive. She grabbed her at the waist, lifted her up, and then dropped her in a slam behind her so that she landed on her stomach. Crimson ended things by hooking her neck in the crook of her arm, pulling her head back, and holding the girl's own shuriken at her throat.

"Surrender!"

"Ow!" the girl cried as the point of the cold steel bit into the thin flesh of her neck. "Okay, okay, I surrender! Just don't kill me!"

"Who do you work for?" Crimson ordered.

"No one!"

"Then why'd you attack our camp?"

"I just wanted your materia," she claimed. "There were so many. I couldn't help myself. I wasn't going to hurt anyone!"

Crimson didn't think she was lying, at least not on the first part. The fact that her back was killing her now from that hit said otherwise about the second. The question now then was what could Crimson do?

It wasn't like they could just march her up to the authorities with them being wanted as well. And killing the little thief wouldn't sit right with her for such a small crime. Crimson dismounted her back, grabbed her materia, and put the girl's wrist in a lock as she brought her to her feet.

The girl whimpered, still nursing the mother of all headaches from the Sense Materia. It served her right for taking it in the first place. It would guarantee she didn't try to steal another mastered materia.

"Move," Crimson said, pushing her forward. "You're going to explain to everyone exactly why you tried to take their materia and let them decide your punishment."

 **[-oOo-]**

"Come on!" the Wu— _Yuffie, Crimson corrected_ —said as she pointed to the small town just ahead. Things… didn't go as planned. She expected anger, yelling, apologies, anything to make the girl repent for her thieving ways and punish her without hurting her permanently.

She never expected the girl would be able to convince the rest of them to let her _join_ them.

 _"I still don't know how she did it,"_ Crimson muttered beneath her breath, holding her head as she slowly shook it.

"She made a very convincing argument," Red XIII said as he walked by, hearing her with his inhumanly sharp ears. "You can't fault her points."

"I know, damn it, but that doesn't make it any easier to accept." The key point was that she had a way to infiltrate the Junon through the town below it. Apparently she had made friends with a little girl named Priscilla, who lived in the town beneath the base. It was through this friendship she had found a way to get into the base above without being detected.

Even at a distance she could see that the town was run-down, buried beneath tons of steel above that blotted out the sun and denied the sand its warming rays and comfort. The water was polluted from run-off from the base, the underwater reactor not helping things along. One could imagine that if the base hadn't been built it would have been as beautiful as Costa del Sol….

Just the thought of the beach made Crimson miss the time she spent there on break. Sure, she and Zack had been attacked by clones that had been misshapen and twisted. But at least she could relax and enjoy it all before then. And she liked that swimsuit too, but it got left behind when she had to take Cloud and leave the Turks the first time.

She shook her head, driving away the stray thoughts. There was no time to relax. She had to get to the other continent and head to the Shinra Mansion in search for something that could help Cloud. That was where he and Zack were, so it was their best bet unless they could find Hojo.

As for how they were supposed to get up there, the girl had supposedly managed to tame a dolphin. Yuffie used it to climb from below to get to the base higher up undetected. It honestly sounded absurd and she had doubts about how effective that was.

But the fact that Yuffie had several materia that should be on the base was proof that she had some way to get them. If she was lying then there were much better lies she could have told. And it was an out-of-context solution that it could render the safeguards they had been put into place against such an infiltration meaningless. If she had another way in she'd take it, but right now they were limited on options.

Her PHS rang before she could stew on it further. It was Kunsel, according to the screen ID. She answered. "Hello?"

 _"So a contact of mine in Kalm I called said something about an argument between the inn-guest and the keeper there several days ago,"_ he started with. _"Hearing that it was over a flaming-tailed exotic pet, I figured I'd call and see how things were going?"_

Crimson frowned. Did he have people everywhere? "We really do stick out, don't we?"

 _"Big time,"_ he said. _"Seriously, how far did you make it? Are you okay?"_

"Well, we left Kalm, went to get chocobos from the ranch but they were out. So we had to catch our own to get through the Marshes. Then we got attacked by… well, I'm assuming _all_ the Midgar Zolom snakelets, and one of the adults that we managed to kill off. The other was, according to Cloud's investigation, killed by Sephiroth. Then we went through the Mythril Mines, ran into Reno and Rude, and now we're outside of Junon, with a plan to get on a ship and then get to Costa del Sol. With me so far?"

There was an audible pause over the other line. _"… nice to see you've been taking it easy. Here I was worried you were going to tire yourself out while I was sitting a beach in Costa del Sol and enjoying the nice sun and sand."_

She felt a note of aggravation building inside of her. "Was that sarcasm?"

 _"Nooooo,"_ he said, sarcastically. _"Seriously though, you should take it easy… Then again, telling you this next part won't help on that front now will it?"_

She sighed. Whatever he had to tell her would likely just make her head hurt from more problems. "Okay, let me have it."

 _"Hojo is here,"_ he said. _"As in he's right on this very beach, lounging in the sun, with a gaggle of women hovering over him like he's the hottest thing under the sun."_

That… sounded too good to be true. All it would take was one boat ride and they'd be there to snatch him up, grill him for information, and then be off. She'd take that as the good news and assume that the bad news was proportionate to it. "And what's the catch?"

 _"The movements around the base have changed,"_ he said. _"Some of those women flocking around him are military from what I can see in how they carry themselves, probably sent to keep an eye on him without him realizing it, and they've tightened restrictions on travel leaving and entering the area."_

That could be a problem. If they restricted the way that they could enter and leave then that meant whatever boat they hid on would need to undergo a thorough investigation. That meant smuggling would be harder with the only exception being certain vessels, all of which that came to mind being military.

 _"One last thing,"_ he added, as if he hadn't finished raising her stress-level for the moment. _"Hushed word around the base is that Rufus and Heidegger are coming soon."_

…. And there was the headache, right on cue.


	19. Chapter 19

**Another chapter is up!**

 **Kazeshuriken: Thank you!**

 **Beloved Daughter: of course. you know the answer.**

 **Enjoy!**

Crimson stood off to the side with the others at the base of a wooden stairway leading further up. The only exception was Yuffie, who knocked on the door, rocking back and forth as she waited for a response. The door latch clacked and the hinges groaned as it opened to reveal an elderly woman.

"Hello," Yuffie said brightly. "Is Priscilla in?"

The elderly woman, perhaps having recognized Yuffie, smiled. "No, no. She went to the shore to play with her little dolphin friend at the offing."

Suddenly, Red XIII tensed. He turned his head towards the shore that rested past a house on a drop that led down to the water. He must've heard something.

Cloud too, through his SOLDIER-enhanced senses. Though he looked unsure. "Did you—"

"The sound of a girl screaming," Red XIII confirmed, darting towards the Dolphin Offing. Yuffie, apparently having heard him, jumped down from the top of the stairs and barely touched the ground before she sped past Cloud, who was readying his sword and running in that direction.

Crimson and the other girls only realized what was happening when the old man at the overlook screamed, "The Bottomswell is going after Priscilla!"

The former Turk ran over to the edge to see that the Bottomswell was a monster that was _just barely_ shorter than the adult Midgar Zolom they had dealt with. It floated in the air just over a small, tanned girl in a yellow top that was lying down next to a flailing dolphin. The fact that it opened its maw wide pretty much confirmed what they feared would happen next—it was going to eat them.

 **"PRISCILLA!"** Yuffie screamed, instantly shrouded in a coat of power. A Limit Break. She kicked off the overlook and, with her weapon in hand, rotated as she fell directly onto its head. The kunoichi brought the shuriken crashing down with enough force to successfully divert its ravenous lunge for the two. **"GET AWAY FROM HER!"**

It reeled around, focusing on its assailant, but spheres of fire and ice pelted it before it could act. The others charged in while Crimson remained on the stairs, around the middle part. Her weapon was long-ranged, and she would be better served as mission control.

She activated her Sense Materia— _Floating. No changes in the air current around it. Manipulates gravity to a moderate degree using fins. Subject to damage by strong winds_ —and the information flooded in as she watched Red XIII use Matra Magic to further hinder the creature while Yuffie and Tifa retrieved the little girl and dolphin respectively, moving them off to the side. Missile constructs were created and flew towards the creature, only to veer off-course as they neared. They crashed into the water and exploded, sending water and bits of sand and stone everywhere without harming it.

"That spell won't work!" Crimson told Red XIII. "It's manipulating the gravity around it to float! The missiles will fly off-course because of it! Stick to your other magic!"

He snarled in agreement when the water suddenly surged up in a large wave, around the sentient beast's height, and swept him back. Cloud planted his sword into the ground and kept his feet under him. Yuffie and Tifa managed to get to Crimson's level on the stairs, avoiding the waves entirely.

"C'mon, Priscilla! Breathe!" begged the kunoichi, performing rescue breathing while Tifa was keeping the dolphin calm. Aerith was busy as well, tending to their wounds with healing magic. That left the frontline fighting to the males while Crimson readied her next attack.

As the wave retreated, Bottomswell lashed with its tail at Cloud. He blocked and slashed at the tail when it pulled back, but it was of no use. The damn thing was floating and fighting knee-deep in water, as proven in the marsh, was a pain in the ass.

"Get out of the water!" Crimson ordered, charging up a Bolt 2 spell. The monster was floating over the water, but she didn't want to risk a stray bolt catching them. Once they both were on the shore, she let the bluish-white bolt hit home.

The creature shrieked and spun in place, conjuring another wave. This time it was large enough that it could reach them on the stairs. Yuffie grabbed the coughing, now-breathing Priscilla and ascended to the top of the overlook with a jump befitting a kunoichi. The rest were pulled down with the retreating water to the level of Cloud and Red XIII, who helped them to their feet.

" _Cough_ —Lo— _cough_ —Lockhart!" Crimson coughed out the briny water as Aerith unleashed a Healing Wind. "Give Cloud your Long Distance Materia and retreat back to the stairs to use magic with Aerith! Next time you see the water rising, freeze as much as you can. Magic will tamper with the cohesion of the wave and dampen the effect—otherwise we'll be swept out into the sea next time."

The martial artist tossed the materia to him and moved back with Aerith like she said, wet clothes clinging to her frame as she did so. Crimson elected to do the same, knowing she was vulnerable up-close. That was when she was sudden entombed in a sphere of water that was so dense and heavy that she couldn't move.

She heard Cloud's garbled voice calling her and watched as he swung the sword around, letting the point of the blade cut through the surface of the bubble. Some of it splashed out as the blade exited, but the bubble held its shape and form. He tried reaching in to pull her out, but it was too dense for even him to reach deep enough.

 _Gravity to manipulate water. Magic to disrupt,_ the Sense Materia told her. He needed to use magic to break the bubble, but she had no way of telling him that and her air was running out. Was… was she going to die like this?

The next thing she knew, she was cold. Ice surrounded her and then collapsed in on itself. She covered her head with her arms in a knee-jerk reaction, no longer restricted by the water, and gasped as a strong hand pulled her out of the remaining ice. It was Cloud.

"Are you okay?" he asked, a hitch in his voice. The sound of fire searing the air as it flew and the Bottomswell screeching told her that Red XIII was carrying on the fight.

She nodded as she tried to pull away, only for her legs to collapse under her while her lungs fought desperately for air again. It was no good. Her body was useless until it pulled itself together. She'd be dead weight.

"Put her on, kupo~!" She turned to see that Mog had been summoned. Cloud lifted her onto the chocobo and she held on as it took her up the stairs where Aerith and Tifa were. The healer set to work immediately.

Crimson turned to Tifa. That abrupt coldness was a blatant clue about what had happened. "How'd— _cough_ —you know to use magic?"

"You said that using magic would disrupt the waves and weaken them." Tifa used an Ice 2 spell to do just that as another wave was getting ready to crash into the group. The frozen portion caused it to collapse early. "Even if it didn't, Cloud could've shattered the ice easier than dealing with the water."

"….Thanks," Crimson found it in her to say. She didn't like Tifa and, on some level, she knew the feeling was mutual. They were on opposing sides for too long, and both blamed one another for the bombing of the reactor and the plate falling. But they were in this together and knew survival meant cooperation.

A shadow was cast as something flew over their heads. It was Yuffie, looking angry and carrying her shuriken. She landed at the bottom with a roll, leaped onto Cloud's shoulder as he blocked another attack from the thing's tail, and was then wreathed in the light of a Limit Break again as she swung down with another hammering blow that pierced the outer shell this time.

 **"HOW DARE YOU—"** She twisted the point of the shuriken and the hard shell cracked enough that a fist-sized portion popped out. She pulled a materia out of her pouch and then shoved it, enclosed in her fist, into the opening to unleash a spell directly into it, bypassing its defenses. **"—DO THAT TO HER!"**

 _Bio Spell. Poison inflicted,_ the Sense Materia told Crimson as the monster began to thrash around. The kunoichi held on to fire the spell a second time, eliciting a louder shriek from it as the poison did its work. It twisted its body upside down before she could get a third shot in, dropping the girl in the water beneath it.

Red XIII went to retrieve her as it brought its tail down, only for Cloud's Blade Beam to smack it away and then hit the monster full-on in the face. Its scales began to fall apart, revealing necrotic tissue and muscle beneath it. The poison was killing it faster than they had been.

Sensing its impending demise, Bottomswell sluggishly retreated far off-shore and spun in a tight circle. It was conjuring a wave in the distance, one that rose higher than the offing. It was going to sink lower Junon into the sea at that rate.

"Stop it! Now!" Crimson ordered. Lighting, fire, and ice flew out, but the wave still grew higher and higher. They couldn't do a thing with their spells being so weak. "We have to get to higher ground!"

Reluctantly, they did so with one exception. Red XIII refused to move. Instead, he took up a defensive posture as heat seeped from every pore of his body and the light of the Enemy Skill Materia grew brighter.

The Sense Materia, still active, fed her the information— _Enemy skill acquired from Midgar Zolom. Immense fire damage impending_ —and Crimson turned to Tifa. "We need a wall of ice in front of us, now!"

His maw opened. A crimson, throbbing, maleficent sphere swelled in front of him until it was larger than he was. He unleashed it with a roar, and the orb of destruction flew towards the dying Bottomswell.

The wall of ice finished the moment it connected, and a blast of heat and fire went skyward in a small mushroom cloud. Steam from the flash-boiling water billowed out and cooled into an unpleasantly strong gale as it hit the ice wall, making the wooden buildings shake and tearing a hanging fish skeleton near the top of the stairs off its hook. The lingering cloud of fog obscured their vision and silence reigned as the remnants of the ice wall crumbled.

When the fog cleared nothing remained of the Bottomswell.

Red XIII panted as he ascended the stairs. In his mouth was some kind of armlet. He set it down on the ground in front of them. "The blast carried that over."

Then he collapsed from exhaustion. Tifa picked it up as she kneeled down and ran her hand along Red XIII's body to check for any injuries. There were burns present given the proximity to the blast and the lack of shielding they had with the ice wall. Aerith worked her healing magic right away.

"We need to hide," Crimson said as the Sense Materia ceased functioning. The size of that blast had no doubt sent the upper level of the base into a state of heightened alert. "Shinra will have heard the commotion and will send someone to investigate."

"Leave that to us," said the older man who had called out before about the monster in warning. He was holding Priscilla in his arms. Next to him was an old woman. "Follow her!"

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson sighed as she dried her hair in a bathroom. The warm shower had helped her relax after having to kill some unfeasibly destructive monster again. Night had fallen at this point, and the group found themselves in the home of the old woman who lived by the overlook of the offing.

 _"You can hide here and rest,"_ she had told them, hours ago. _"Don't worry about anyone saying anything after what you did. Shinra should have dealt with that thing years ago, but they never want to clean up their own messes."_

Then she left, leaving the group alone. The moment the door shut, Yuffie had taken up a pose of supplication and fell on her knees, pressing her forehead to the wooden floor in gratitude. It honestly caught Crimson off-guard given how they first met, what with the theft and attacking.

 _"Thank you!"_ the younger girl had said. _"Thank you for helping me save Priscilla and this town! Truthfully, I ended up here some time after leaving Wutai. The Bottomswell sank the small boat I was on and I washed up on the shore. The people looked after me, so if it had gotten them…."_

 _"It had to be done,"_ Cloud had told her. _"It was a good thing we came when we did."_

 _"Still, where did that thing come from?"_ Tifa had wondered aloud. _"That wasn't normal, and I say that after everything we've fought to this point. It was almost like the thing in Hojo's lab."_

Yuffie had shrugged her shoulders. _"I asked that myself some time ago. They just said that it appeared a few years after the base was built."_

 _"It was probably mutated then,"_ Cloud had guessed. _"There's no way a town or a base would be stationed here if creatures like that were native. Not without being driven to extinction."_

Crimson had nodded her head in agreement at the time. _"From the sensory information alone I could see it manipulated gravity to fly, control water, and created those orbs that we had to use magic to break. It's clearly an apex predator, yet I'd never heard about it until now, and I doubt it could reproduce under normal circumstance. There's no way something like that had been natural, and there's a Mako Reactor underwater here."_

After that the discussion petered off. Yuffie left to check on Priscilla, and the others decided to relax. All the fighting in the water was liable to leave them catching colds, so they took turns getting washed and cleaned and their clothes dried. Only Cloud and Red XIII were left.

Crimson slipped on underclothes, a shirt, and a pair of pajama pants that the townsfolk provided. They explained they had a lot lying around since most of the people around the group's age had moved when the base was built. Priscilla was one of the few remaining children and thus treasured dearly, which helped explain why they were going so far out of their way to cover the group's tracks and shelter them.

A quick check in the mirror to make sure she was presentable showed that Crimson was as clean as she was going to get. She unlocked the door and stepped out onto the hardwood floor of the main room. The fire that had been going since before she went in left the room warm in a different way than the bathroom steeped in steam was.

She noticed Cloud standing against the wall, looking out the window. "Notice anything strange in the town?"

"Some people from Shinra showed up, but the townsfolk gave them the runaround," he said. "They seemed impatient, but I think they bought whatever they told them. We should be fine for the night."

"Good," she said, breathing easier. "Great. Then go hit the showers."

"Right." He leaned forward and off the wall, gesturing to the cauldron stewing over a fire. "The woman who lives here made some Fish Soup. Said it might help us get meat on our bones or something like that."

Food sounded _wonderful_ at this point. "I'll have a bowl before settling in for the night."

Cloud went to the bathroom and closed the door behind him, leaving his two swords behind. Crimson stared at Zack's for a moment, thinking about him. He had been on the run for almost a year with Cloud comatose, so she wondered if he managed to get by on the kindness of strangers like they were doing now.

She then ate the Fish Soup in silence, sitting alone in her own corner while gauging the status of the group she was a part of, now that she had a minute to think without the threat of something trying to kill them breathing down her back. Tifa and Aerith were comfortable in front of the fire around Red XIII, who had dozed off. So much had happened, but they seemed to be handling the stress of everything better than she was.

"Why are you eating by yourself?" It took every ounce of training that Crimson had not to lash out at the voice abruptly in her ear. _Somehow_ , Yuffie had slipped into the house without her noticing and was dressed in a midriff-revealing shirt and shorts. Judging from her scent, she had bathed too.

"I have a lot to think about," Crimson told her, stirring the soup around in the bowl. "I take it your friend will be okay?"

"Mm-hm." Yuffie leaned against the wall next to her. "She's tired, but she told me to thank all of you for helping her and Mr. Dolphin. They should both be well enough to help us tomorrow."

"That's good." She still needed a way to get them on a ship to Costa del Sol. And then she needed to come up with a plan to get their hands on Hojo himself, who was under watch by Shinra. That wasn't going to be easy, and once he was officially in custody it would be a pain to extract him.

There was so much to do, and so little time. But, for tonight, that could wait. Right here, right now, cleanse of all the silt, dirt, sand, and every bit of grime that had accumulated on their trip to this point, she just wanted to eat.

The warm soup was simple, yet easily the best thing she had in a long time. It made her sleepy with how filling it was. She finished it off and drifted over to the beds.

Crimson felt tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep in a warm, welcoming, soft bed. It called to her, a siren's song and lullaby all-in-one. The moment her head touched the pillow, she drifted off to a long-needed slumber.

Then she dreamed.


	20. Chapter 20

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken: Thank you.**

 **patrick the almighty observer: Read on and see.**

 **Enjoy!**

Crimson stirred awake the next day, sitting up in the bed and letting the thick cover slide down her body as she stretched her arms to the sky. She had dreamed of a time when she was a Turk, recalling how they managed to get contraband across the sea to the western continent through the port. The information was useful, befitting of what they had to do next. Was it a sign?

"You're awake now?" asked a gentle voice. It was Aerith, dressed in her gown without the short jacket she normally wore. "Hold on, I'll get you some coffee."

"What happened last night?" Crimson asked wearily. She had fallen asleep so easily that she doubted it they could have woken her short of explosives. It was unbefitting of a former Turk, but she had been tired with the constant fighting and travel. The allure of the bed and slumber had been too much for her to withstand and she gave in.

"According to the woman who let us stay in her home, Shinra had sent some men down to investigate what happened," Aerith told her, handing her a steaming cup. The rich aroma grabbed her attention and lit a fire in Crimson's mind, driving away the lethargy. "They lied and said they finally got sick of the Bottomswell and gathered explosives to blow it up when it came by. No one could prove otherwise without a deeper investigation, and they were just as eager to sweep the whole matter under the rug since Rufus Shinra was on his way, at least from what they could tell by the music coming from the base above."

Crimson sipped on the coffee and thought to herself that was good enough for now, allowing them to move onto their next plan. She looked around to see that Cloud was up and talking to Tifa, while Red XIII could be seen pacing outside the window. They were waiting for her to wake up the entire time then.

The former Turk dressed herself and made for the door, the others following after. The moment she was outside, the music from above reached her ears. It was definitely the sort of thing that they would play for prominent members of the organization, and Rufus had only recently become the president.

She looked over the edge of the slope and saw that Yuffie was on the offing's shore with Priscilla, the dolphin splashing in the water nearby. It had been swept away after Aerith had healed it when the tidal wave crashed into them. It seemed to be in good spirits, all things considered. They made their way down the stairs, and caught the tailwind of a conversation between the girls.

"You're going with them?" Priscilla asked the kunoichi.

Yuffie nodded. "They're on a really important quest of some kind. They need me to stick around and help them out."

"Then take this." Priscilla took off a necklace that she had around her neck and handed it over. "It's an amulet. Take care of it, okay?"

"You sure you want to give up something like this to me?" Yuffie asked her as she turned it in her hands. It was a materia—a Summoning Materia, at a glance. "It's important, isn't it?"

The young girl nodded. "You can just bring it back when you're done with your quest. Promise?"

"It's a promise." Yuffie held out her pinky. Priscilla did the same and they entwined. Crimson and the others came to a stop as Priscilla then went over to the dolphin. The kunoichi then fiddled with the materia, trying to call forth the power within. But no amount of effort seemed to stir it.

She scratched her head and turned to Aerith, the only person she knew who had a Summoning Materia as well. "I don't think its responding to me. Is this real?"

"Yes, it is," Aerith said. "I can feel the presence within it. May I see it?"

Aerith extended her hand, allowing Yuffie to place it in her palm. She closed her fingers around it and beckoned forth the entity within it as she did Mog. There was an icy wind that billowed as the summoning came forth in a burst of frost and rime overhead.

She was beautiful, a regal woman with pale-blue skin. Much of it was exposed on her torso, her modesty tastefully preserved through a purple choli that wrapped around the back of her neck and then into ribbons that floated behind her. The sash around her waist was made of the same material, joined to the almost gossamer-thin leggings that grew darker in shade as they approached her feet. There was a diamond affixed to the center of her forehead, and her teal hair was bound into a rising pony tail.

And, when she spoke, her voice was as soft as snow. _"I am Shiva,"_ the summoning said, keeping her eyes closed as she turned her head towards Aerith. _"By the Goddess' Will, I shall accompany you in your quest, Child of the Planet."_

"You have my thanks." Aerith, not at all surprised or confused by the message like the rest of them, gave a slight bow of her head. "Is there one of us who would serve best to call upon you?"

The summoning glided over and around the group, settling next to Tifa and pressing a soft finger against her head. _"She will suffice best, though I will come when called by the others, if need be."_

With that said, the summoning's body vanished into motes of blue light that dissipated in the air. Only the lingering chill that permeated their surroundings served as proof it once manifested. Aerith then placed Shiva's Summoning Materia into Tifa's hand.

It was enough to snap her out of the minor daze she had been in. "What was that about?"

A reasonable question that Crimson found herself wanting answers to. "I've seen Summoning Materia being used before by the company, but they were never as vocal or sentient as Mog and Shiva appear to be. And what was the Goddess' Will she was talking about?"

"I told you that I was on a mission of my own when I said I wanted to come with you," Aerith reminded her. "The Goddess she spoke of is the one who speaks to me the loudest. As for why the summonings are more vocal, the ones produced by Shinra are basically just the memories taken forcibly from the Planet. They don't hold the connection that the natural ones do, nor would the Planet intentionally give them the ability to access sentient beings to be used as weapons."

"So it's like the difference between a recording and live streaming?" Crimson guessed. "The recordings don't change, but the live stream can depending on what and where it's broadcasting from… I guess in this case the Lifestream?"

"Close enough," Aerith said, looking over to Priscilla and her dolphin. "It looks like they're ready for us."

"Right." Crimson turned to everyone. "When we get to the base, we need to get to the shipping containers. The Turks have a system in place where certain ones can go through without being checked by customs. Often it's used to smuggle something, but right now it's our best bet to get to Costa Del Sol without being spotted or leaving a dozen bodies behind. Let's do this properly, okay?"

They all agreed, leaving getting up there as the last obstacle. She turned to watch as the dolphin practiced on a ball a final time, feeling the doubt creeping into her on this plan. Then she took a deep breath and steeled herself. It wasn't the most absurd thing they'd done during this trip, but hopefully it would be the last.

 **[-oOo-]**

Elmyra sighed as she finished sweeping the floor, having cleaned her home for the umpteenth time in the wake of her daughter's absence. It had been a while now since she'd heard from Aerith, a contrast to when she would come home every evening with a smile on her face as she told her how many flowers she sold or anything new she'd seen in the slums. Now she hadn't heard a thing, so she cleaned in order to distract herself.

It was the same thing she'd done with her late husband. Only instead of waiting for him to come back every day at the train station, she busied herself keeping her home pristine for when her daughter returned. She could only pray to the stars and planet that things didn't play out like they did with her husband, receiving a note from those people she had left with informing her that Aerith had died.

Elmyra wasn't sure she could take the loss another person dear to her. Not again. If she hadn't found Aerith before the letter arrived, she wasn't certain that she could have gone on living.

Midgar was a dark and dreary metropolis, a festering hive of mako and steel that only looked pretty from above at the cost of the wasteland surrounding it. Whereas Elmyra had been resigned to living there with her husband, Aerith wanted to make it beautiful. She toiled relentlessly despite the futility, coming home with dirt encrusted hands and her dress covered in stains.

Looking at a photo of Aerith taken only a few years ago, standing with the field of flowers behind her and a bright smile on her face, it showed her efforts weren't in vain. Her daughter could bring life to even the most lifeless of places. It was a gift that shouldn't be lost to the world.

In her weaker moments, she wanted to contact that Turk to see if he had spotted her. But she knew it would be pointless. He wouldn't tell her a thing. Hell, he had kidnapped her and taken her away without concern for anything but his job.

A soft knock on her door brought her out of her musings. She hoped it hadn't been him again. It was one thing to speak of the devil, but heaven's forbid the mere thought served the same purpose. Elmyra cracked open the door and found the man she had bumped into before standing there.

"Hello," he said. "Did I come at a bad time?"

"I wasn't expecting visitors," she said, a note of suspicion in her voice. "How did you know where I lived?"

"You gave me your name," he said. "It was the same as the girl who sold flowers around the slums nearby, though I didn't realize it until later on. Between that and where we met, I took a guess that the house with a beautiful field of flowers nearby would be where you lived."

"Yes, I suppose that would explain it. But why are you here, Mister…"

"Richard," he said. "Richard Reeve. I was hoping for some advice. My mother recently took in a young boy who lost his parents during the plate fall. You said you had personal experience with loss, and I want to do something but…."

Elmyra pressed her lips thin. She supposed it couldn't hurt to give him some advice for the sake of a child who had lost everything. If there was one thing she knew, it was how traumatizing that could be. She opened the door and welcomed him inside. "Come in."

"Thank you." He entered and stood off the side. "You have a lovely home. My mother would love to be able to grow flowers like those outside someday."

"It's nice to hear my daughter's hard-work being appreciated," Elmyra said. "Now, tell me more about the circumstances of this child."

"He's young," Richard said. "Mother told me he broke her house window by accident and confessed he had lost his parents. They were in Sector 7 when it happened, and they weren't among the evacuees since the house they had bought in one of the other Sectors hadn't been lived in. He was staying there alone until my mother took him in, but he seems withdrawn most times and unnaturally quiet."

Elmyra felt a feeling of loathing towards Shinra upon hearing how they had condemned another child to lose their parents. The number of people to suffer from the events of the plate fall hadn't been a small number. "That is an unfortunately common tale, I'm afraid. My daughter was the same after she witnessed her own mother die at a young age."

"Oh, I presumed she was your birth-daughter," he said.

"I adopted her," Elmyra clarified. "Her mother was… a friend who had just arrived in Midgar. She died after placing Aerith in my care, asking me to look after her. The pain will linger for the boy, sadly. It never really goes away, but he can hopefully come to terms with it in enough time, and with someone ready to lend him support when he needs it."

"Is there any way to have him open up to do so?" Richard asked. "I don't want to broach the topic wantonly and risk him withdrawing further."

"It's not something you can force," she told him, taking a deep breath. "It requires a delicate hand. If Aerith were here then perhaps she could offer better advice from her perspective, but she's left Midgar to travel without telling me where she is. Honestly…."

"Do you need someone to listen to you?" he asked. "It would be the least I could do for the advice."

She couldn't help but smile at the offer. "Tempting, but you don't have to try and coddle me. I can manage on my own." She went over to the door and opened it. "You said your mother would like to grow flowers, right?"

He nodded. "She came from the countryside but moved here to be close to me. You can imagine how hard flowers are to come by, at least before I heard of your daughter. A shame she isn't here now."

"I believe we have spare seeds, if she wants to attempt to grow her own," Elmyra said. "There are a few that are ready to be cut now. I wouldn't mind parting with them if it makes someone else happy."

"Thank you very much," he said as he followed her out and into the yard.

 **[-oOo-]**

Rufus stood inside of the ship as it sailed to Costa Del Sol, staring out to sea with Heidegger at his back and Dark Nation at his side. There was still much work to do back in the office, but he had to make time of this. The airship would be ready soon upon inspection, a welcomed addition after all the other losses to this point.

He looked down to the ship's deck and saw the busybodies hurrying about, doing their best in order to try and impress him with their diligence in hopes of gaining a promotion. They should be that diligent at all times, earning their promotion through consistent work. At least the reception had been synchronized, showing that their remaining Junon forces were disciplined and practiced.

He didn't have time to think further on those matters as the alarm blared, announcing a stowaway. The guards filed in below deck to handle it, a few remaining behind to watch the entrance. He figured it would be resolved quickly enough until Dark Nation sniffed the air and snarled.

He crouched down and sat a hand on his guard hound's head. "What's wrong?"

It barked triggered its spells while Heidegger stomped to the radio and demanded answers. The light of a Barrier swaddled him and a Magic Barrier shrouded the hound as screams emerged from the other end of the radio. Heidegger pulled out a gun as well and turned to him.

"Sir, we need to leave!" He pointed to the motorized lifeboats. The remaining guards were going below deck, and gunfire could be heard echoing in the steel enclosure. "My men below announced that someone was heading into the engine room and killing them along the way. It could be rebels sabotaging the boat or worse, and we need to get you to safety."

Rufus followed after him silently as they climbed down towards the lifeboat. The gunfire abruptly stopped then, and a figure phased through the steel hull like a ghost. He had long silver hair and was dressed in black, hovering in the air. Mako eyes turned to face them, and Heidegger paled.

"Sephiroth," Heidegger said, fear clear in his voice as he held the gun up towards him. It was clear that wouldn't do a thing, but it was better than nothing. "W-Why are you here?"

"Are you… after the Promised Land as well?" he asked the new President.

Rufus didn't bother with the question. There was no reasoning with him. He wouldn't waste the breath doing so. Instead, he looked to what loitered in the air above the man who'd killed his father and slaughtered a number of his forces and employees.

There was a large container, suspended by a number of wires and supports with the release panel off to the side. He opened his coat, pulled out his sawed-off shotgun, and fired at it. The impact of the bullet shattered the panel, activating the release while opening the hatch for cargo to drop below.

The container fell down upon the Sephiroth and carried him below deck, where dust rose up as the ship groaned thunderously from the impact. Dark Nation leaned forward, peering into the hole and snarling. It hadn't been enough to kill him.

"Come, Dark Nation!" Rufus put the gun away as he sprinted to the lifeboat, Dark Nation following him. Heidegger stared at the lingering dust from the hatch's entrance for a moment before realizing he was on the verge of being left behind.

"Do you think that killed him?" Heidegger asked as he climbed in the boat and started lowering it into the water. The answer came not from Rufus, but the blazing light of a laser punching a hole in the thick hull of the ship above them. The larger man let out a startled cry and nearly fell out of the boat as it hit the water roughly and detached.

Rufus frowned as he started the motor and the lifeboat sped towards the shore of Costa Del Sol. That ability hadn't been in the files he'd read. He turned to Heidegger. "Order a missile strike to sink the boat and Sephiroth alike. I don't know what he's doing in there, but this is our chance to take him out."

Heidegger opened his PHS and got started right away, arranging for the Costa Del Sol base to prepare to do so. "Estimated time until launch is ten minutes! We'll be on the shore by then!"

"Good." Rufus sat down in the boat with Dark Nation resting its head on his lap as Heidegger steered them to the shore.


	21. Chapter 21

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken: True true!**

 **Enjoy!**

The door of the shipping container had been wrenched loose by the fall, while other parts had caved in and buckled under the impact. It was natural then that it would yield entirely as Cloud and Red XIII threw their respective strength against it. They hurried and moved aside the broken doors before helping the rest of their comrades out.

Tifa staggered out under her own power, though she tenderly nursed her broken arm with her good one. Aerith was on her back, arms slouching over and a wound to her forehead causing blood to stream down in rivulets. Crimson had to be carried out in Cloud's arms, while Yuffie was placed upon Red XIII's back.

Cloud set Crimson against a wall gently as the ruined shipping container rumbled from something beneath it stirring. He could feel in his body what—no, _who_ it was. He drew his sword from the magnetic holster on his back and left it to Tifa and Red XIII to wake and heal the others.

There was a tug in Cloud's body as Sephiroth rose from where he had been entombed. Somehow, he phased through the bottom and emerged looking no worse for wear. He locked eyes with Cloud, and something passed between the two of them.

Cloud screamed as he charged the man with murderous intent, blade at the ready. He crossed the space between them in a matter of excited heartbeats and swung to take off Sephiroth's head. It missed as the former ace of all SOLDIERs tilted his head to the side, stepped in diagonally, and then pushed Cloud forward as he passed by, sending him staggering in that direction.

Cloud righted himself and tried again. He jumped into the air and brought the blade crashing down hard enough to cleave into the metal hull of the floor. Sephiroth merely side-stepped while keeping an innocently placid expression on his face, as though he didn't murder the entire crew of the ship and caused most of the tragedies in Cloud's life. It only served to fuel his anger even more as he swung his blade over and over. Finally, after a number of slashes failed to reach their target, Sephiroth levitated beyond his reach and stared down at him.

Embarrassed—that was the only way to describe what Cloud felt. Despite being as strong as SOLDIER, despite having borrowed memories, and despite wanting to seek revenge against the man who had burned his hometown down and injured his best friend, he couldn't so much as scratch his clothes.

It was then Sephiroth deigned to finally speak. "Who are you?"

"You… don't remember me?" Somehow, that seemed even worse to Cloud. His life and everything attached to him was taken by this man and Shinra. And he couldn't even remember him. "I'm Cloud! One of the lives you've ruined!"

"Cloud…." Hearing his name didn't seem to change anything, only leaving Sephiroth to vacantly stare upwards. It was as if he was seeing something in the distance, far beyond the dank ceiling of rusted metal and pipes. "After a long sleep… The time has come."

Cloud's anger reached its boiling point at being ignored. Was his life and everything attached to it no different than stepping on an ant to Sephiroth? He roared as he tapped into the power of his Limit Break, releasing a Beam Blade that punched through the upper-side of the hull of the ship.

The attack barely ripped his coat as he floated above it and something plopped down, hitting the ground with a wet noise that drew Cloud's attention. Sephiroth seemed to pay it no mind as he continued to rise upwards through the ceiling absentmindedly but, the moment Cloud's mako-shaded eyes fell upon it, a connection tugged on his mind and filled it with white-noise. He fell to his knees, dropping his sword with a loud clank to grab his head from the presence and sight of Jenova's arm.

 _"Aeri… he's… something!"_ he heard through the blanks in the grating noise, eating away at his mind with a piercing shriek that wouldn't be silenced.

Seconds later the pain eased as a sense of warm relief and comfort spread. The Anicent's power called forth through the materia. He turned to see Aerith had been roused from unconsciousness, wielding her staff that housed the materia needed to spread the healing spell around using an All Materia.

"You're all right," Crimson told him as she helped him to his feet. "Come on."

It was just in time as the bit of flesh that Sephiroth left behind began to bulge erratically. It ruptured from the inside out and swelled into an abomination, a mass of cancerous-looking grey meat made to rise and take on a vaguely alien form. Its top-half swayed in an abnormally sinuous manner, the extended tentacle dragging along the floor while it peered down at the gathering party beneath it.

"Eww…." Yuffie said from behind him somewhere. "What is that thing?"

"It doesn't matter right now." Cloud picked up his sword again and shook his head to clear it. He took up a fighting stance and readied himself. "Kill it."

A suddenly bloom of cold could be felt nearby as Tifa took the initiative and gathered ice, readying a spell. The spawn born of Jenova's flesh spun around and fixed the protrusion that served as its head in her direction. The cold abruptly disappeared.

Cloud turned to see that a phantasmal clock had appeared in front of Tifa. The hands that were speeding around its face came to an abrupt stop, and so did she. His childhood friend was fixed in her position before she could even finish the spell, frozen in relation to time as they perceived it.

A flash of sapphire light was all the warning they had as the abomination fired a laser from its head at Cloud, who turned back in time to see it coming. The laser was concussive in nature, condensed energy fired in a single beam weak enough that Cloud's blade could withstand it as he used it in place of a shield. The laser fired a second time, slightly stronger and capable of pushing him back a foot. The third laser then ignored him entirely and flew towards Yuffie, who had been perched on some boxes lining up the side of the ship's hull.

"Whoa!" She jumped off for cover and came to a roll on the floor as the beam punched through the boxes and scattered splinters and cargo. She righted herself just as there was a flash of red from Red XIII circling around the thing, lobbing Fire spells to see what stuck. "Hit it with that big spell you used before!"

"He'd kill us all if he did it in this confined hull!" That would be Crimson, distancing herself from him if Cloud heard right. A serpentine bolt of lightning flung itself at the massive arms of the abomination, whatever composing it managing to soak the damage without being grounded through the metal of the ship. Either the ship was non-conductive or Jenova's spawn absorbed it, but she was no doubt using Sense to tell. "And don't bother with the Bio spell! Poison and debilitating spells won't work—its bodily functions are too alien!"

"Aww…" Yuffie placed the materia she had been going for back into her pouch and reached for another. "I suppose I can't use Quake either inside of a ship."

Cloud turned his attention back to the abomination and rushed forward, sword in hand. He swung it across, using the tip of the blade to cleave open a gash in its flesh. Alien ichor flowed from the wound, purple in hue and noxious in scent.

The spawn of Jenova responded by spilling forth an acrid and ominous looking green gas. The moment in came into contact with Cloud's flesh, yellowish tongues of electricity rippled across the surface of his skin. They dug into him like voracious worms, a pain that grated at him and only continued to build within the gas.

He managed to bear with it long enough to cleave into the abomination again and then retreated in a single bound of his mako-enhanced legs. He broke free of the cloud of gas and grabbed hold of one of the pipes perched against the hull, halfway between the ceiling and floor. From there he could oversee the rest of his companions as they stumbled out of the gas.

Aerith was the furthest back and safe against the wall, while Red XIII emerged with a chuff as he started coughing and shaking his head. Crimson hopped back, her eyes somewhat glazed brightly and a strained expression on her face. Tifa was still frozen, so that left—

"That stings!" Yuffie cried as she ran out, small jolts dancing over her arms and legs. She pulled out a new materia and aimed it at the center of the cloud of gas. "Burn!"

Crimson's eyes widened and she extended a hand towards the girl. "Don't! The gas is—"

It was too late. A tongue of flame spat out of the materia, and the gas flared into a blindingly bright flash. The wave of heat and force that followed knocked those closest to it away, and briefly blinded Cloud and Aerith.

Through the veil of lingering smoke a pair of beams struck Red XIII as he was rising to his feet. They converged and slammed him hard, sending him flying backwards until he crashed against the wall with a loud, gong-like ring coming from the metal. His body trembled in place as it struggled to get back up, but he buckled under his own weight and grunted in pain.

Cloud dropped down before the second volley, using his body and sword as a shield to cover for him. The second converging shots hit hard and he feared his sword would break from the stress of the impact. But it held as Red XIII got up and into the fight, despite his injuries.

Jenova's spawn fired a third pair of converging laser fire. They targeted and hit Yuffie, who let out a pained cry before being thrown through the jarred door leading to the engine room. Aerith went to tend to her after releasing a Cure 2 spell combined with an All Materia, leaving the rest to hold the line against the monstrosity.

She never reached. A radiant sphere of light formed above the abomination's head at the point of its tail and fired a spread shot of lasers. They erupted on impact with the metal surface of the floor, throwing her back along with the others as the ship rocked and metal screeched from the explosions.

Cloud was caught amidst one of the blasts and smoldered, left on his knees and covered with patches of seared skin as he looked up defiantly to see the monster spinning around a second time. It swiveled its head in Red XIII's direction and he was caught mid-lunge by the Stop spell not a second after, frozen in time like Tifa.

 **"THAT TEARS IT!"** Crimson screamed as she emerged from the smoke somewhat slouched over. Her hair was disheveled, her breathing heavy, and lips curled back. There was something burning in her eyes—unmitigated anger unlike the controlled power of a Limit Break.

Zack's memories gave Cloud the answer before the question came up: _Fury._

Repressed anger elevated to the point of near-madness, a berserker whose blood boiled with rage and seethed with indignation. Did the gas do this to her? In her current state, her anger would blind her to everything.

Crimson allowed her lightning spells to fly, but her rage cost her control over it. The bolts went wide and struck nearby cargo and the walls, only a stray bolt occasionally hitting the abomination. It seemed the ship was lightning-resistant after all, or they'd be feeling the pain as well.

It got worse when Jenova's spawn retaliated with a laser attack that struck her in the chest. It knocked her into a steel drum, causing her to dent the metal on impact. She screamed in unbridled rage and was encompassed by the light of the Limit Break.

Rather than wrapping their weapons in aurate light, enabling them to strike vital points easier, the energy deepened in color until it was blood-red. It completely warped her Rekka into something demonic. Had she been on the verge of learning a new Limit Break only to have her present state of mind shape it in a form fitting enough to kill the target of her rage?

It didn't matter. The moment she flung it, the empowered weapon cut through the abomination's left arm protrusion at the shoulder, leaving the appendage to flounder on the floor while the weapon circled back to its owner. The energy of the attack had been expended in delivering the wound and returned her Rekka back to normal, but Crimson was still in the throes of Fury.

Missing an arm, the spawn born from Jenova's arm maneuvered to perform the Stop spell a third time. It targeted Crimson as she was getting ready to fling her Rekka again. The spell caught her before the weapon could leave her grasp.

Just like that half of their party was out of the fight.

Cloud's anger finally took form after what he expended against Sephiroth and gave him strength. He plunged the blade up to the hilt inside of Jenova's spawn and then held it tight as he leapt upwards with the power of his own Limit Break, compounding the damage Crimson had done. The blade dragged through its body, opening a long rift skyward before the abomination writhed and slammed its head downwards. Cloud was knocked back down to the floor, his blade torn from his grip.

"Hey! Tall, gooey, and ugly!" called the kunoichi from above. "Look what I found!"

Yuffie had returned, looking fresh as a daisy. In her hands was what looked to be a fan of some kind, metal and painted green. The monstrosity warbled as she raked it across the protrusion that served as its head and drew ichor.

Cloud picked up his blade and hopped back, sparing her a glance. "You're okay?"

"My second Limit Break is a technique to calm the mind and spread the energy into a healing force," she proudly said while using her new weapon to leave thin cuts in the abomination's flesh as she deftly darted through the laser fire.

The ticking of a clock reached his ears and Cloud turned towards the source. The phantasmal clock that was in front of Tifa had started moving again. The ticking increased in volume with the movement of the hands until the spell wore off and the clock vanished.

Tifa emerged from her temporal stasis, casting the Ice spell. As the spell hit home, covering Jenova's spawn in a thin layer of hoarfrost that it quickly shook off, her eyes took in the destruction. She seemed mildly confused by the scale when the battle had just started from her perspective.

"Look out!" Aerith abruptly called out. "Above it!"

Tifa saw what she meant as the sphere of energy hovered above the spawn of Jenova's flesh. She crossed her arms to cover her head and jumped back as the spread fire left the floor around her glowing orange before erupting. Her hop turned to a tumble, but she righted herself and retook her fighting stance despite the burns on her skin.

The ticking of a clock sounded again. Red XIII continued his lunge forward as time moved again for him. The bound was followed by a Fire 2 spell that erupted into a column as it hit the base of the abomination, a sickening stench filling the air as it burned.

"My turn to help," Aerith said, wreathed in the subtle fury of her own Limit Break at seeing her companions suffer. It became a gentle breeze that spread throughout the hull of the ship. Flesh mended and the agony they suffered through to this point faded as the ticking of the final clock began.

Crimson snarled as the spell ended and her weapon was thrown. It dug into the abomination and drew another gash in its body before she pulled it back. Lightning crackled in the palm of her other hand and she prepared to fire a Bolt 2 spell that would have likely hit Yuffie, who was still attacking it up-close.

Cloud grabbed her from behind before she could. "You'll hit her!"

"Let go of me, damn it!" She struggled with primal rage to get free, burning hatred still in her eyes. "I'll kill it! **I'LL KILL IT!"**

Seeing her like this left them all unnerved, tense at her mere presence as she made threats of violence that grew increasingly horrific. It was too much of a contrast to her typical state. The spawn of Jenova itself seemed to be indecisive about its next move, but there was no telling how long that would last.

"We need to calm her down!" Cloud stated, taking charge. "Aerith, the Heal Materia from Kalm! Now!"

"Ri-Right…." Aerith shifted her grip on the staff and pointed it at Crimson. _"Esuna!"_

 **"I'LL—"** Crimson stopped struggling as the spell wrapped around her. The burning hatred in her eyes quelled, her hair tamed itself, and her breathing leveled out. She brought her hand to her forehead. "Ah…"

"Have you calmed down now?" Cloud asked. He released her when she silently nodded her head. Then he caught sight of the charging laser and pushed her aside.

The beam crashed into his unprotected chest. The concussive force sent him sailing in the air once more. The blade he had been using to that point was wrenched out of his hand and sent spiraling into a stack of cargo, while he slammed into the hull.

"Cloud!" Tifa called as a second beam hammered him back into the metal hull when he tried to pull himself out. She clenched her teeth and pulled out her summoning materia when it fired a third time and embedded him further into it. Enough was enough. **"SHIVA!"**

A localized blizzard seemed to emerge from the materia. The blinding white flurry and raging winds gave birth to the empress of ice and snow. She loitered just off the ground in front of Tifa. _"How may I be of use?"_

Tifa was panting. It seemed the strain of the summoning was more immense that she expected. She pointed to the spawn of Jenova. "Kill it!"

 _"Understood,"_ said the summoning as she extended a finger towards it.

The moisture in the air around Jenova's spawn instant crystallized into a shell of ice that rapidly thickened, until it became a tomb. The abomination writhed as the invasive frost glacially froze it inside out, rupturing the cells within. Then it went still as the ice finished invading its body entirely.

Shiva snapped her fingers. The ice and Jenova's spawn shattered into pieces that broke apart over and over. Soon all that was left were glittering motes—like diamonds turned to dust.

The battle was over at last.


	22. Chapter 22

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken: Thank you!**

 **Enjoy!**

Red XIII listened silently as the Cargo Ship groaned, signifying that the battle had taken an immense toll on the vessel. The shamaness went through the motions of casting another wide healing spell to ensure that everyone was unharmed, while the thief went through the boxes that had been broken open and unashamedly claimed a White Cape for herself. As for the tactician, she seemed quiet now that her battle-frenzy had come to an end.

He trotted over to the broken crates that had been victim to the swordsman's blade when it fell, intent on returning it to him while he seemed preoccupied. However, Red XIII stumbled upon a red materia that immediately drew his eyes. It was another Summon Materia.

For all their scarcity, it seemed as though they were destined to end up in the group's grasp. Or was it the work of the Goddess mentioned before? He picked it up and brought it to the shamaness, who had taken a seat to rest her mind after healing their bodies.

"This was here?" She accepted the materia and held it between her palms. Her eyes closed and she seemed to be at peace as she listened to it. "I see. Jenova's presence hindered my ability to hear you. I'm sorry."

The one-sided conversation between the summoning within the materia and the shamaness was interrupted when the tactician abruptly yelled, "What do you mean they're getting ready to launch a missile at the ship!?"

Red XIII turned to see she was on the PHS, pacing back and forth. It seemed their reprieve after the battle was coming to an end. He fetched the sword and returned it to the swordsman as they made to move.

 **[-oOo-]**

Kunsel sat on an overlook that edged the sea of Costa del Sol, far enough away from the main beach to go unspotted. He was observing the ship Crimson's group were out on using a pair of binoculars that had an advanced zoom feature, among other things. At the same time, he was listening to a bug that he managed to get into the Shinra base through an earpiece attached to his left ear, while he held the PHS to his right one.

The former Second-Class had been observing movement in the base when he had seen Rufus come in using a lifeboat and overheard what was being said. Sephiroth had shown up on-board the ship that Crimson told him they would be on earlier. What were the chances? It didn't matter now considering they were making the final preparations to blow it to smithereens.

"You've got two minutes," he told Crimson over the line. "They've got a single missile locked on now and the coordinates are set."

 _"That soon?"_ It sounded like there was movement on the other end as she spoke. He hoped that meant they were running. _"That's not nearly enough time to get out of the blast radius by boat or swimming."_

There was nothing he could do on his end either. The base was too far away and security had increased since Rufus' arrival. He couldn't stop the launch. After another minute passed, with no sign of movement on the boat he could see, he gave a final warning. "Crimson, you're out of time. What are you doing?"

 _"We think we've got a plan to get out safely."_

"What do you mean you _'think'_?"

 _"Well, it's not like we had a lot of warning before—"_ Her retort was cut off when the missile was fired from the shore towards the boat that had come to a standstill on the water. The path was outlined by the smoke trail as it rose into the air and then curved back down. It connected with the deck of the ship as Crimson's end of the line went dead.

The blast was thunderous enough that he could hear it from the shoreline overlook where he was perched. The force of the blast rankled the surface of the water into fierce waves as the fiery explosion bloomed into a mushroom of white smoke, rising up high and spread itself wide. Bits and pieces of metal rained down after being torn asunder from the blast.

Kunsel's heart hammered in his chest as he scoured the water with his binoculars. He didn't know what he expected to find, but somehow he hoped that that they made it out. His vision was obscured by the smoke, so he switched them to thermal mode. That was when he noticed there was a moving patch of what could only be described as compressed cold drifting towards the northern shore.

It was a hunch, but he was desperate for one at the moment. He estimated the location it would make shore and grabbed the musician's case that he used to house his sword. Then he took off, jumping down the steep slope with relative ease.

The northern end of the shore was too rocky to be used as a tourist attraction. Seagulls were constantly loitering, content with picking at the different shellfish and fish that washed onto the shore. They took off as his boots crunched the stone underfoot, leaving his figure obscured by the dozens of startled birds as he kept going until he came to a sliding stop.

In front of him was a sphere of ice twice his height. An unearthly chill wafted off of it and left his bare arms feeling the frosty sting. He used the thermal mode of his binoculars to see the warm signatures huddled inside. It was them.

He tried to break it open with his fist, but it proved to be too dense. Plan B then. The former Second-Class opened his case to reveal his sword and the materia that were stored inside. Luxiere had been the stronger of the two but Kunsel was good with using materia and, as much as he loathed it at the time, his fighting style was more comparable with Genesis' than Zack's.

Kunsel slotted the Gravity Materia he mastered into his sword and imbued the magic into the blade. Shrouded in a coat of dark violent, the blade felt heavier as it descended and managed to stab into ice sphere, far enough away from where it could hit any of them. He then twisted it, widening the hole just enough to see them as Cloud reached for the Buster Sword.

The Buster Sword's point pierced through the gap he made. The blade was heavier and sturdier than Kunsel's blade, and Cloud was stronger than him if Crimson's word was anything to go by. It gave the blond-haired swordsman just enough leverage to wrench the ice apart and free the others.

They were all pale from the cold, but ultimately unharmed. Kunsel breathed easier and extended a hand to help Crimson onto her feet. "That's one way to get out."

 _"I-I-It w-worked,"_ Crimson chattered through pale-blue lips as she stood up. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. _"I-it was the b-b-best we could do on short n-n-n-notice…."_

"I'm sure." He adjusted his shades. "Anyway, I've gotten rooms prepared at an motel that's out of the way. You can warm up there."

 _"L-Lead th-the w-w-way."_

 **[-oOo-]**

Hours later, after a hot shower and change of clothes, Crimson sat on the bed of the motel room. It wasn't anything like the resort that she had stayed in the last time she visited, an all-expense paid trip courtesy of the Company to watch over Zack. But the place was decent and far enough to keep them out of Shinra's view while they recovered and Kunsel kept an ear out for any new developments.

Right now, Rufus and Heidegger were having their men scour the area where the blast was, hoping to find any sign that Sephiroth had been killed while scavenging anything that was still in one piece from the blast. With that occupying their schedule for the next day or so, Crimson didn't need to keep her guard up. Unfortunately, it also gave her time to think to herself and all the things she compartmentalized out of necessity flooded her mind.

She sighed as she fell back, letting the mattress shape itself around her as her head found the pillow. It was a close thing. They had nearly been killed during an attack that wasn't even meant for them. That was both embarrassing and terrifying.

If Aerith hadn't called out Shiva again to encase them in an air-tight sphere, and then used her control of it to fling them out of the blast-zone before the missile hit, they would have been goners. Even then, the cold had been too much to weather. Their bodies had been starting to shut down.

The more time went on, the more they kept finding themselves in dangerous situations. It was just one thing after another. And then there was what happened during the fight….

 _Knock. Knock. Knock._ Someone rapped against the door lightly.

Crimson sat up, wondering if Aerith had left her key behind. They were sharing a room together, leaving the other two women of the group nicely isolated away from her. Cloud and Kunsel had a room themselves, though Red XIII lounged on the balcony that was surrounded by local trees and largely out-of-sight.

She was halfway towards the door when she froze at the voice on the other end. It was Cloud's. _"Crimson? Can I come in?"_

"Is something wrong?"

 _"Aerith told me to check on you,"_ he admitted. Though he was quick to add, _"I was planning on doing that anyway, but I wasn't exactly sure whether or not you'd want me to."_

Crimson sighed and opened the door for him to enter. "I'm better now."

"Are you sure?" Cloud walked in and shut the door behind him softly. "I mean, after being under that status effect—"

"Call it what was." She sat back down on the bed and tucked her knees in, curling up. "I… I snapped, Cloud. You can say I was under Fury, but I call that an excuse. I'm trained to never lose my composure, and yet I went completely off the handle. You have no idea what that's like."

"Then tell me." He took a seat at the edge of the bed. "Maybe… maybe talking about it will help. I'm not exactly the best person when it comes to these things, but I want to help you if I can."

"… Everything was in a maddening, red haze for me," she confessed. "I was lucid enough to recognize everyone, but angry. At the same time I felt so… _liberated_. As long as I had a target to take my aggression out on, I felt I could just shove everything bad onto it and kill it—as if that would take care of everything and be cathartic. I didn't have to think about anything else."

"Is it so bad to want that?" he asked. "To not have to think about everything that's happened? To just… let it all go?"

"I don't have that luxury, Cloud." She unfurled her legs and scooted to the edge of the bed, so that she was next to him. "We still have to get Hojo before that slippery worm gets beyond our reach. And, even after we get answers out of him, you and Lockhart aren't going to stop chasing Sephiroth, and I'm not going to leave you alone after everything to this point. Aerith is apparently on a mission from a Goddess and the Planet itself or something if I'm reading everything right, and Sephiroth is involved in that considering what just happened on the ship. Red XIII just wants to get home, and the little thief… well, actually, I'm not sure why we're still bringing her along."

"She made fairly decent points," Cloud said. "And she was helpful."

"The point _I'm_ making is that I have to work on keeping everyone safe and seeing all of these things through to the end. It's still so much work, and who knows what's coming next. I can't afford to let myself slip up by letting go of my responsibility. The only reason Shinra hasn't come down on us harder already is because they literally cannot afford to send an army after us, and they're afraid of you too."

His head turned in her direction at that, confusion present on his face by the way his mako-colored eyes furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"It took me longer than it should have to figure out after we ran into Reno and Rude, but Zack—" Cloud winced at the mention. "Sorry about that. I'm slipping because I'm tired. But what he went through, along with his training, made him capable of decimating half their army. Sephiroth took out the rest in Midgar, and Hojo was responsible for him as well. They know you went through the same process, so naturally they don't want to risk losing anymore personnel. That's why they need him—so they aren't going in blind against both you and Sephiroth."

"And the longer they wait, they greater the chance that one of us will kill the other and weaken ourselves," Cloud gathered. "Like you said after the mines."

"Mm-hmm…" Maybe it was because she was tired after everything, but Crimson found it difficult to keep her head up. She leaned it against Cloud's shoulder and found comfort in how broad it was. "Did you ever think that things would get this complicated when we set out?"

"…Are you regretting it?" Cloud asked. His hands had tightened into fists on his lap.

She placed her hands on top of them and lightly squeezed. "We've already had this discussion before in the Church. I won't abandon you, Cloud. We'll get your memories back and everything will work out. Just… let me rest like this for a minute, and I'll be as good as new."

Cloud unfurled his fists and turned his hands upwards, so they were hand-in-hand. He wasn't sure why, but it just seemed like the right thing to do. "Take all the time you need."

 **[-oOo-]**

Yuffie was traveling with a bunch of weird people. They were strong though, she'd admit that after they dealt with Bottomswell. In fact, her opinion of how strong they were only grew after learning that thing they fought on the ship was just the latest in a long line freaky monsters. But they were still weird—not in a bad way, but sort of a fun way.

Right now, she was watching as Tifa did sit-ups in her bed. Aerith had borrowed their balcony to listen to the wind, saying that the Planet was relieved at being cleansed of a portion of the parasite or something else. Just watching her going for over three-hundred reps made Yuffie's abs hurt to the point that she may as well have been the one doing the workout.

 _Knock. Knock. Knock._ They both turned at the sound of someone knocking on the door, while Aerith stepped into the room from the balcony. _"It's Kunsel. May I enter?"_

The girls looked to one another before Tifa shrugged and gestured for Yuffie to open the door. The kunoichi did so and in stepped the guy who had gotten them free of the ice at the beach. He wore a pair of shorts that went down to his knees, a sleeveless shirt that revealed he was surprisingly muscular, and a pair of shades.

And he was carrying boxes. "Good evening, everyone. I trust you've recovered?"

"For the most part," Aerith said. Out of all of them, Yuffie noted that she seemed to be the least guarded around him. Were they familiar with one another? "Have you learned anything new?"

He nodded once. "I'll explain once Cloud and Crimson join us. Red XIII has saw fit to retrieve them."

"What's in the boxes?" Yuffie asked.

"Some last minute purchases," he said as Crimson, Cloud, and Red XIII finally entered. Yuffie noticed the first two looked a little flustered and were actively looking away from one another, while Red XIII merely took a seat at the foot of Tifa's bed. "Everyone's here then."

"Yeah," Crimson said. "What have you learned?"

"Heidegger and Rufus plan to confront Hojo the day after tomorrow, in order to proposition Hojo to return to Midgar. Until then, he remains under heavy guard with few chances to extract him. However, there is an opportunity to do so during his nightly visit to a local beachside restaurant. We can exploit this by getting him tomorrow night. You'll spend the day on the beach around the building, gathering information and planning an escape route."

"We'll also need to disable or silence the soldiers around him," Crimson pointed out. "If they're aware he's gone missing, we'll have Shinra breathing down our necks too soon. And we need to case the building beforehand."

"Don't forget our faces are recognizable to them," Cloud added. "While most people won't notice, I doubt that the disguised soldiers wouldn't have been given a photo to keep a lookout for us. We'd never get close."

Yuffie stuck her hand up at that. "Leave that to me. I'm good with making disguises. It's practically an art where I come from."

Crimson frowned but considered it. Wutai's ninja and kunoichi were good at stealth and disguises during the war. "Even if that's the case, we'd need swimsuits for the beach to avoid sticking out and going shopping for them still presents the same problem if we end up getting spotted. I suppose we could send you since you're new, but—"

"Already done." Kunsel gestured towards the boxes. "I think you'll find these to be fitting for the purpose of this mission."

Yuffie took that as her cue to open one of them and found a bikini. It was cute, but it wasn't what she was expecting. The rest thought the same, judging by how their brows arched in curiosity as they opened the other ones. Then she took a closer look at it and was put on edge. "This is in my exact size."

"Mine too," Aerith noted, sounding more amused than anything else. "But I think it looks lovely."

Crimson and Tifa both lifted what she presumed were theirs and immediately shot him a look. Though it was the former who asked, "Leaving aside what you picked, how did you know our sizes when you didn't ask?"

Kunsel merely adjusted his shades. "It's me. That should explain enough."

In the end, as she watched the pair try futilely to get him to go back and pick different swimsuits, Yuffie decided that she would definitely have a lot of fun traveling with them. That would make it even more bittersweet when she took their materia back to her home. She hadn't forgotten why she had started stealing in the first place—for the sake of Wutai.

But, until then, she would enjoy it while she could.


	23. Chapter 23

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken: Thank you for the comment!**

 **Enjoy!**

The next day, the sun was high in the clear blue sky, shining down with radiant warmth that washed over the entirety of Costa del Sol. As the gentle surge lapped at the sandy shore and birds took flight overhead, Aerith basked in the sun with a volleyball in one hand. The other was holding a tuft of her temporarily-black hair.

She turned to Yuffie on the other side of the net and asked, "You're sure this will go back to normal soon?"

Yuffie nodded. She hadn't changed how she looked at all aside from wearing a yellow and blue bikini since no one knew she was affiliated with them. "I call it one-day dye for a reason. It'll wash out under hot water when you get back to your room. You should enjoy it for a bit since it looks good on you. At least judging by how all those guys are looking at you."

Aerith's swimsuit was a one-piece that was white with a flower pattern going over it. It had an appeal to it that expressed modest attractiveness without being overtly sexual, practically innocent compared to the bikinis being worn by most of the other women there on holiday. It still got her fleeting looks that she didn't so much mind as long as they kept their distance.

"Speaking of guys, what's the deal with the other two and chocobo-hair?" Yuffie asked. "Just saying, those two clearly don't get along and I've seen how they both react around him. Are they fighting over him?"

"They didn't like one another to begin with." Aerith knocked the ball back over the net, high into the air. "Whether or not romance is a factor, I believe they both understand well-enough to shelve any bad feelings against one another when it comes to fighting. Either way, you shouldn't pry into it."

"Well then, what about you?" asked the kunoichi as she jumped into the air and spiked the ball back down, sending it past Aerith fast enough for the backlash to whip her hair around. She cheered as she landed. "Do you have a crush on him?"

"I could ask the same of you." Aerith brushed stray strands of her hair behind her head. "Does Cloud strike your interest?"

 _"Pffftt—"_ Yuffie almost broke out laughing before she covered her mouth, leaving her shoulders shaking until she calmed down. "Oh, good one. Sorry, but he's too broody for me. Not even the hot kind of broody at that. But you still didn't answer my question."

"I'm taken." She placed her hand over her heart gently as a slight breeze rustled her hair. "Just because I cannot see him or feel his touch doesn't mean that I can't hear his voice in my heart. Even now, I know he looks over us and wants what's best for us all."

" _Mmm_ … that sounds so boring," Yuffie said. "Don't get me wrong, it's sweet, but boring."

"Remember why we're here," Aerith said. "What can you hear?"

The reason they were among the gaggle of beach-goers was because it was the best source of gossip and information. Yuffie had the sharpest sense of hearing after Red XIII, who would stand out, and Cloud, whose imposing figure would likely deter anyone from speaking as freely as they would with two cute girls around. She could pick up keywords and hone her hearing to focus in on the conversation thanks to her training, even if not as effectively as the other two could.

"Some of them are going on about how they saw Shinra pull some kind of robot from where the ship blew up in the dead of night," she said. "Nothing about survivors, checkpoints for identification, or being on the lookout for anyone in particular. We're ghosts as far as Shinra's concerned and there's no reason for them to change their security measures."

"Good. I'll call Kunsel and Crimson and let them know."

Another light breeze rolled over her skin, as if to gently caress it. The Planet still seemed to be in a better mood with a portion of Jenova destroyed, if the weather and quiet were any indication. It'd be ashamed for her to not enjoy her beach-time while she could.

Aerith picked up the ball and tossed it up again to continue their game.

 **[-oOo-]**

Tifa Lockhart slid another drink to a patron at the seaside shack that rested on the shore, having found brief, gainful employment. Kunsel had arranged for her to get the position by convincing the owner that she was a capable bartender (or mixologist, as he insisted). The fact that her swimsuit would likely attract more clients was only a bonus they claimed—though she questioned that on several fronts.

Tifa had been made to wear what was basically a swimsuit missing about seventy-percent of the fabric. The top that covered her breasts was a plunging v-neckline that was connected to the bottom by a metal ring, leaving very little to the imagination. This was a strong contrast to the innocent and adorable swimsuits he had gotten for Aerith and Yuffie.

As one of the men leaving placed around twenty gil into the tip jar, she put on her best bartender smile and wished for him to come again. He walked off intoxicated to where a woman waited impatiently. Tifa could hear the woman chewing him out about flirting with that 'floozy' from where she was.

"Don't take it personally," said Kunsel, sitting at the far end of the counter with a newspaper. "Also, can I have another of that last one?"

 _"I blame you for this,"_ Tifa said as she prepared the drink, low enough so that they weren't overheard. Once this was over she would be washing the dye out of her hair while having Red XIII's new summoning burn this _thing_ that somehow passed as a swimsuit into ashes. "I don't know what you were thinking when you got these."

"I merely chose outfits that wouldn't stand out." From his tone of voice, she gathered he honestly meant that. Wasn't that a scary thought? "I assure you, I had no ulterior motives."

"Then explain it to me," Tifa said, setting his drink down in front of him. "I'd love to hear this one."

He sighed. "If someone with your appeal went in something more reserved, it would call attention beyond merely ogling eyes. For example, they may notice how your leg and arm muscles are far more toned than the average attractive woman. Whereas if their eyes are preoccupied elsewhere, they pay little mind to the details for the more obvious attributes. By showing this much skin, you are also announcing to the world that you have nothing to hide and are proud of it."

"… I don't buy it," Tifa said as she received another order. She turned and smiled to the customer, saying she would get right on it.

"And it got you into a position to monitor Hojo without suspicion," he finished undeterred, tilting his head over his shoulder to where Hojo laid on the beach.

Tifa looked that way, even as she worked with the shaker mixing cup. The mad scientist was reclining in a chair while being fawned over by three women they were certain were part of the military. It would be so easy to hop over the counter, knock them out, and take him somewhere to beat the answers out of him before getting revenge.

This was the man who had changed Cloud. The man who created the monster that burned down her town. The man who gleefully experimented on her friends and neighbors, without a second thought at that….

"Easy," Kunsel said nonchalantly. "You're denting the metal."

Tifa looked down to see that her fingers had applied enough pressure for metal to start deforming without realizing it. She lessened her grip and finished pouring the drink into a glass without betraying her faux-smile to the customer as she handed it to him. Then she turned back to Kunsel as he took a sip of his drink.

"I've also taken the liberty of purchasing more materia and better equipment for your party," he said as he finished. "You'll find them in your room for tonight. I'll have the vehicles ready by then."

"Fine. Anything else?" she asked.

"Nothing for the moment. Just be patient," he said as he folded his newspaper. "Timing is everything, no matter how easy a target he appears to be. If we don't do this properly, we'll have Rufus on our trail before we can accomplish anything of importance."

 **[-oOo-]**

Cloud would admit he wasn't in the best state of mind after last night, before the meeting with the others. He had spent that time in Crimson's room, letting her get some rest. She had been tired and fell asleep on his shoulders. They remained that way until there was a knock on the door and they were called to meet with the others.

As simple as that was, even now he could still remember the warmth and softness of her body, the echoes of her soft breathing as her chest rose and fell, and how peaceful she seemed after everything she had been through to this point. It had been nice to just stay like that. Quiet and together like that….

He shook his head to dispel those thoughts and everything they would lead to. He wasn't worthy of it. Not from her or anyone else. Not while he was a fake—an imperfect facsimile of someone else, living with borrowed memories and goodwill from someone who he couldn't properly remember.

"Here," Crimson said. She sat a cold drink down on a coaster on the table in front of him. It had a small umbrella in it. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he lied, looking up towards her. Now he saw why she had been upset the night before when she looked into the box containing her swimwear. Her bare, fair skin was on display to such an extent it was almost criminal—only her breasts and hips were shielded from sight by thin pieces of cloth that looked to be amber or a darker shade of yellow.

Even then, the bottom of her bikini looked at though it was tied together at the curves of her hips in a basic knot that looked like it would come undone with a small tug. Thankfully, for both Kunsel's sake and her modesty, that wasn't the case. The knots were actually just decoration and there was a band hidden just behind them, so they wouldn't come undone by mere chance.

Her face turned slightly red in the cheeks as she turned away from his fixated gaze. "You don't have to stare. I know how it looks on me."

"I'm sorry." Cloud immediately cast his eyes down to the wooden table. "It's just that… the memories from the last time you were here were more…."

"Modest," Crimson finished as she sat next to him. "That swimsuit was more comfortable than this by a mile. Honestly, I may as well have gone naked."

Cloud didn't say anything. He didn't trust his own voice while she was so close, the warmth of her body drifting over to his exposed arms. He was shirtless, adorned in trunks with his hair dark and his eyes hidden by a spare set of sunglasses.

Crimson sat a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Did you get a chance to check on everything?" he asked, diverting the previous question. "How's it look?"

She frowned slightly before she nodded her head to the others inside of it. "It can hold about two-hundred people in here, though I doubt there will be more than fifty when night comes. There are two exits, one in the front and one in the back, and the kitchen isn't that large. The bathroom has a window that's high up but big enough to fit a body through. It'll work."

He nodded. Their part in everything was to scope out the place and make sure whatever Kunsel had planned would go off without a hitch. With that done, all that was left was to get back to their room and wash the dye out of his hair. Both Aerith and Crimson stared at him for some time with it looking black and it felt… wrong.

"Is it about last night?" Crimson abruptly asked as he grabbed the drink and brought it to his lips.

He coughed and spilled his drink as a result. It drew attention. He lowered his head, using napkins to clean the surface of the wood. "What are you talking about?"

 _"About sleeping on you,"_ she said, low enough so that he could hear her with his enhanced hearing. "I was just so tired that I couldn't stay awake. Plus you were nice and firm. Then you stayed like that the entire time that I slept, and I know that couldn't have been comfortable for you."

He sighed exasperatedly. "I didn't mind that. It was good you got the rest you needed. I just… let's just drop it for now."

It didn't seem to make her feel any better about it, but she nodded her head slightly. They paid for their drinks and then departed from the restaurant, walking down the boardwalk with the beach on their left. As they did, Cloud followed behind her while deep in thought.

Whoever Zack was had made great friends, willing to go against the world and Shinra just to see his final wishes done well. They were willing to fight against a company-turned-military power and throw away their previous lives for the sake of something intangible—all of that for one person, despite the risk. But what if it was all for nothing?

Crimson said that she wanted to see the real him, but what if she didn't like whoever he had been when the scrambled memories were straightened out again. What if all of their sacrifices weren't for the sake of someone Zack considered a friend, but some nobody he decided to take pity on. Kunsel had told him that he was an infantryman in Shinra's forces, meaning he didn't originally make the cut for SOLDIER.

Zack was a First-Class, one of the best there was. At least when Cloud thought the memories were his he could have been proud of that. Now he knew he was stealing it all—Zack's friends, Zack's sword, Zack's skills and knowledge.

The thought of the real him coming to light scared Cloud in the wake of that. Whoever he was in the past, there was no way that Cloud could live up to Zack's legacy. Yet he couldn't live with the idea of being a fake either.

And that wasn't even getting into Sephiroth. That hadn't even been a fight on the ship. How the hell was he going to defeat Sephiroth as himself if he couldn't do it with Zack's memories and experiences helping him?

He couldn't find an answer to that question, and he feared it would get them all killed by the time their journey came to an end.

 **[-oOo-]**

Hours later, as sunset loomed over the horizon, Crimson finished washing the dye out of her hair so that it was normal again and entered into the room where the others sat in waiting. Cloud wouldn't look at her, intentionally turning his head down towards the floor. She pressed her lips thin and frowned.

It seemed like she'd caused a problem after all. She hoped to avoid that. Even though she'd tried to explain why she fell asleep on him, it didn't help. She hoped he would understand, but if anything he seemed even more upset than before.

Crimson didn't try to deny it. Cloud was handsome. He had blonde hair, a well-toned body, and stunning eyes the color of the sky. If she had a type he was likely to fit it. But it would feel too much like she was taking advantage of him without his memories intact, using him as a replacement for Zack—who she outright admitted to Cloud she had something of a crush on in Midgar.

 _Him having black hair today did not help in the slightest either_ , she thought. Aerith and Crimson both stared at him for far too long when she finished dyeing his hair. Maybe it was because they had both been close to Zack in their own way, but Cloud looked just like him for a moment. Cloud likely felt upset about that too, thinking that they saw him as a replacement when they were supposed to be trying to help him become his own person again.

Speaking of the thief and the source of her latest headache, Crimson turned to see Yuffie on the bed playing with what looked to a bag of materia. And they weren't the ones that Kunsel had bought for them either. One thought came to mind and it wasn't pretty. "Where did you get all of those materia?"

"Compensation for services rendered," Yuffie claimed. "When Aerith left to come back here, I went to the Materia Shop to window shop and met the guy who runs it. He wanted me to help out for a few hours, so I did. This is my reward."

"Is that right?" Crimson's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "So we don't need to be on the lookout for authorities searching for someone who matches your description? You know, the only one of us who didn't wear some form of disguise?"

"Not until tomorrow," she said unrepentantly. That pretty much told them all Yuffie had cleaned the poor man out. "We'll be gone by then."

Crimson rubbed the bridge between her eyes and sighed. She really should have expected that much. The girl even admitted that she couldn't help herself when she attacked them before. Before she could chide Yuffie for theft, Kunsel entered with his musician's case carrying his sword and materia.

He set it down and the pulled out a map of the area. "Let's go over the overall plan. Right now, Hojo is getting ready to head to the restaurant with his usual accompaniment of disguised Shinra-employed agent. The young lady and I will enter the restaurant and then proceed once he places his order. Crimson, you'll use your materia to knock out the power for the entire neighborhood."

"And you confirmed it won't hit any sensitive target areas?" she asked. It was one thing to cause a mild disruption in their evening. It was another when a clinic or hospital would lose said power.

"No hospitals, no emergency services, none of them will be affected by the one you're targeting in particular," he assured her. "Once the power is off, the young lady and I will use a combination of a Sleep spell and All materia to spread the effect. Once everyone is unconscious, we will take Hojo along with several others and proceed with Phase 2."

"Hostages?" Tifa asked.

Crimson shook her head. "Not hostages. You're going to release them at different sections of the area as a distraction. They'll wake up within minutes and then walk back to the restaurant without anything going wrong. Shinra won't see Hojo as being the target alone, but rather one of many who was released. They'll likely think it's a prank of some kind before they realize he's the only one not showing up."

"I have procured a van for that," Kunsel said. "While you inside of the van handle that, Hojo will be shrunken down by my use of the Mini spell and will be taken to a secure location by me. I'll send a call out to the rest of you, to ensure you know where to meet me, and from there the interrogation will begin."

"I don't like so many unknowns being involved, let alone random people, but it's the best shot we have right now," Crimson said. It was risky and could go wrong on so many levels, but it was the only chance they had. "Let's get this over with so we can get the answers we need."

The group broke apart and geared up to go kidnap a madman.


	24. Chapter 24

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken: Read and see.**

 **Enjoy!**

Kunsel did a quick count of heads the moment he entered the restaurant. He found thirty-seven people beneath the decorative lights. That number would only grow within the hour using the last few nights as a reference, along with the atmosphere being a sort of quiet and peaceful ambience fitting of the locale.

He and Yuffie specifically took a seat in the corner, perched against the wall, so they could see everyone else and take the appropriate measures when the time came. As she placed an order for fries and he for something light, Kunsel looked down and saw that she had the bangle for the materia on her wrist. From the bulges in her pocket, he assumed the All and Seal Materia were there. Good.

He adjusted the dial to the device linked to the earpiece in right ear, filtering through the frequencies linked to the bugs he had on the Shinra base. So far there was no change there that they need to be aware of. He shifted the frequency back to the bugs at the Villa being used by Rufus, set in place before he arrived. The man in question was on the phone from what he could hear.

That left Hojo. Kunsel reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device used to track the GPS signal of the small tracker he placed into the lining of Hojo's casual wear. He was on the way.

"Ten or so minutes before Hojo arrives," he told her as he placed the device back into his pocket. "Be ready."

"You placed a tracker on this guy?" Yuffie asked. When he nodded, she looked somewhat impressed. "How'd you do that?"

"The same way I bugged the base and the villa," he said. "Either I use a Transform Materia to shrink myself with Mini or Manipulate to control rats. Then I set the bugs into out-of-the-way places or slip the tracker into place. You'd be surprised with the sort of non-conventional uses materia can have."

That seemed to grab her attention. She learned forward, resting her elbows on the table and perching her head between her hands to stare at him. "Tell me more."

Kunsel leaned closely in and whispered, _"As soon as you tell me why the leader of Wutai's daughter is so far from home."_

Yuffie immediately stiffened. "How did you—"

"I have traveled the world over in the last few years in search of my late friend, whenever I had time off," he started. "During that time, I made a number of contacts. That includes Wutai as well. After the war, those who possessed combat skill of your level were few and far between, either due to dying in the war or ritual suicide from what has become of your home. Between that and your first name is it so much of a surprise, Miss Kisaragi?"

"Is there are problem with me going with them?" she asked, a change to be found in her tone as she did so.

Kunsel adjusted his shades and perched his elbows on the table as well, interlocking his fingers in front of his mouth to cover it as he met her gaze. "I simply wish to understand your motives. I can understand your gratitude for them saving your friend as the reason you aided them in getting here, but from this point on you will become an enemy of Shinra. If your identity gets out, you will paint a bull's-eye on your country's back for being careless. Why risk everything for them?"

"…You said it yourself. What my homeland has become is something that I cannot stand. They are opposing the people who are responsible for that. Do I need another reason to stick around?"

"As long as you don't cause problems," Kunsel said to close the matter. "I also feel it'd be best if you actually told them who you were instead of hiding it, but I have no interest in revealing it myself. I just wanted to make where we stand clear."

"Crystal," she said. Whatever cheerfulness she had before was gone, instead replaced with a cold expression on her face as the waitress came with their food and set it down. She ate silently.

Kunsel wondered if he blundered there, addressing the issue headfirst. Maybe there was a better time and place for it. But he had learned that it was best when things were cleared from the beginning, such as with Cloud and his memories. It was fine if she loathed him for now, as long as it didn't cause problems for the others she traveled with later.

Plus, there was no telling what would happen later on if she thought that she could do whatever she pleased and then disappear into anonymity. Not to mention the way she had been eyeing his materia on the way into the restaurant left him wary. Considering she had actually cleaned out the local materia shop without a second thought, he couldn't be sure she wouldn't do the same to them.

Things grew quiet between them after that until Hojo arrived. His round-shaped glasses and slouching walk were unmistakable, even if he was dressed in a long shirt and khakis with three women hanging around him. He took a seat and placed his order.

Kunsel dialed Crimson's PHS and gave her the go ahead. Five seconds later, a shroud of darkness was thrown over the area as all the lights within the building and nearby went out at the same time, raising discontent murmurs and chatter among the customers. He tapped on Yuffie's shoulder to signal her to do her part now.

For a moment, he wondered if she would disobey purely out of spite. That would set them back. But she acquiesced to his command and slipped the two materia into their slots on the bangle before casting the spell to put everyone inside of the restaurant asleep, with the exception of them.

Kunsel scanned the room again with the excellent night-vision his SOLDIER enhancements granted and nodded in satisfaction at the results. Now for the hard part…

 **[-oOo-]**

 **"You had one damn job!"** Heidegger's yelling could be heard even as Rufus' car came to a stop. In the absence of light besides the stars above, it may as well have been a part of the dark background with the jet-black paint job. Even if it hadn't been, the man was so heated that he failed to notice as he continued dressing the women down in front of three armed infantrymen. "I gave you a single task—keep an eye on him! Were you too busy primping in the mirror or getting a tan that you failed to remember that?"

Two of the three women winced as he continued verbally harassing them to the extent that spittle was flying out of his mouth. The final one, who didn't take well to being yelled at, lost her patience after he prodded her in the chest with his fat finger.

"With all due respect, _sir_ ," she all but spat, cutting him off. "There was little we could do about the situation. We couldn't be certain the power failure was a hostile action and we didn't want to compromise ourselves without being certain he was in danger. If we were informed ahead of time that someone may have been targeting him, we would have taken that risk."

"I don't want to hear your excuses, you miserable—" Rufus slammed the car door shut as Heidegger reared his hand back to slap her, allowing for his displeasure to be known to the gathering on the boardwalk outside of the restaurant. Heidegger dropped his raised hand and turned to face the Rufus, standing at attention. "President, sir!"

Rufus came to a stop in front of the women, Dark Nation at his side. "Report what happened."

"We accompanied Professor Hojo as ordered to the restaurant. He'd come here often and the staff checked out so we didn't expect trouble. Then the lights went out in the entire neighborhood and we were besieged by a sudden bout of drowsiness. Everyone inside fell asleep and, by the time we awoke, he was gone along with several other people."

"Where are the others?" Rufus asked. "Have demands been made for hostages?"

She shook her head. "No demands, sir. In fact, some of them have arrived back to the restaurant. They claimed to have woken up some distance away and walked back unharmed. A few of them also claimed to see a vehicle driving off as they awoke as well, large with black windows—likely a van."

The new President whistled to get his hound's attention and pointed him in the direction of Hojo's car. "Get the scent and track it, Dark Nation." Once the guard hound ran over on all fours and hopped into the opened window, Rufus turned to Heidegger. "Have men on the ground searching for that van. Get the Turks on the line as well; I want them here on the double. And is the machine you salvaged from the wreckage in working order?"

"The container it was in was reinforced to survive the blast and water pressure. I can have it ready in thirty-minutes for deployment, but may I ask why?"

"There are a number of people interested in Hojo, but so soon after Sephiroth appeared it brings to mind only one other party," he said. "They were last spotted in the Mythril Mines. I'm not taking any chances. Have every exit to the town covered with whatever forces you can and create a grid, close in on them. Whatever worth they have pales in comparison to the one who made Sephiroth—secure Hojo and the Ancient at any costs."

Heidegger immediately trotted off to the Jeep he had rode in and sped back towards the base, barking orders into his PHS. That left the three women, the infantrymen, and Rufus. He turned back to the women.

The nervous one, a blond, spoke out of turn. "We had no idea this would happen. We—"

"No excuses," he told them plainly. "While the circumstances were unaccounted for, I have neither the time nor patience to hear them. You will receive a dock in your payment until further notice and should the professor not be recovered _alive_ , you will be terminated from the service altogether. Head back to base immediately."

Dark Nation gave a gruff bark as the women departed. The scent trail was found. Good.

Rufus turned to the armed infantrymen who had been left behind. "Follow Dark Nation and call in when you have the location where Hojo is. Should you find yourself under attack by anything or anyone, send an immediate distress call to the base. Do not fire upon any of the suspects until you have confirmation from the base as well. I don't want anyone to accidentally kill a priority target. Any further failures will be met with the immediate termination of your positions and dismissal from the service. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir!" replied the trio in unison. Rufus sent them on their way and they disappeared into the dark of the night on his guard hound's trail.

 **[-oOo-]**

Hojo flailed as he felt the sting of cold water on his face, only to find his arms and legs unwilling to move. He blinked away the stinging droplets as they cascaded down his face only to find the world looked as though he was viewing it through a blurry lens. It took him a second to realize he was tied to a chair, glasses perched on his head, only able to rely on his hearing to determine what was happening.

"He's awakened," said an almost feral voice, coming from what appeared to be a red blur.

"Evening, professor," said another voice, a woman. It sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. "How are you feeling?"

Hojo showed no fear, instead sitting straight up with his head held high. He would not be cowed by voices in the dark anymore than he would the other numerous threats he'd been dealt throughout his lifetime. One of the blurs reached for him and he tensed in preparation for being stricken, only for his glasses to be placed over his eyes and his captors to be revealed.

His world cleared to reveal he was sitting in an old metal chair with rust lining it, a floodlight tied above his head to act a source of illumination. They had brought him to what looked to be a decrepit basement of sorts judging by the concrete floor below and stone surrounding them. As for his captors… he sighed exasperatedly at the sight of some of them. "Can that idiot Heidegger do nothing right?"

"I hope you feel rested after your nap, because we have a lot of questions we need you to answer for us," said the former Turk who'd ran the risk of breaking his wrists the last time. She slipped materia into a bangle. "The longer you resist, the more painful this will be."

"Spare me the unnecessary threats," he said. "I'm fully aware of your methods of interrogation. Tseng allowed me to observe one for purely scientific interests. I was not impressed."

"So, this guy is supposed to be super-smart or something?" asked the short girl that looked to be of Wutai descent. She was speaking with the last of the Ancient, the child of Ifalna.

Ifalna's daughter nodded. "I won't dispute his intelligence, only his use of it. Someone of his talent could have used his knowledge for the betterment of both the world and the people on it. Instead, he's dedicated his life to making the world a worse place."

"You sound just like that fool Faremis," Hojo said, disdain and venom in his voice so thick that it practically dribbled down to the floor."The hypocrisy sickens me the most. You claim me to be selfish in my actions when my work has produced results the world has never seen and changed it for the better. Selfishness is someone who claims to pursue science and then bothers to hinder themselves and its progression by citing morals and emotions—products of chemical imbalance in the brain. He wanted to stop change for the sake of two lives, what was that if not selfish?"

"Gast Faremis?" Ifalna's daughter inquired with a note of caution in her voice. "Mother mentioned that name when I was younger. She said he helped her escape once from Shinra the first time they met."

"Is that all you know?" Hojo seemed amused. "Your ignorance is astounding considering how vital he was to your existence. He's the very reason you are inferior to your mother, because half of his genetic code composes yours."

She seemed perplexed for a moment as the information registered. Then her expression turned crestfallen as the realization dawned on her. "He was my father?"

Hojo went silent, denying her an obvious answer. That ended when he abruptly received an electric shock courtesy of the Thunder Materia in the hands of the former Turk. **"Aggghhh!"**

"She asked you a question," she said, cutting the spell. "You don't get to dangle something like that in front of one of the people you've wronged. Not if you want to keep breathing."

"You won't… risk killing me," Hojo stated, panting. "You… need my knowledge… for some reason or another. Otherwise… you would have done it already."

She turned towards the surviving failure to his Reunion Theory. He supposed it was a testament to his own prowess that, despite being a failure, he managed to elude capture to this point. "Your call."

"She deserves to know," was all he said.

The former Turk nodded and then turned back to Hojo. "Sense is active. I can see everything about your condition, every beat of your heart, every rise in your chest. Lie to me and I'll know. You'll fry for it, only for us to heal you to do it again. You'll talk well before that mind you value so much breaks, I guarantee it."

He looked up, his hair disheveled from the shock. He could see it in her eyes that she'd do it. She meant every word she had said. So he faced the last of the Ancients and talked.

"He was the one who originally found Jenova and worked with Lucrecia and I on the Jenova Project. However, he left because he drew the wrong conclusions, citing that Jenova wasn't of the line called the Cetra—the Ancients. He took your mother, Ifalna, and ran off to Icicle Inn, where they remained hidden while I continued my work with the project."

She looked to the former Turk. "Is he telling the truth?"

The woman nodded, her eyes never leaving him. If her words were true, she must've mastered that materia to such an extent that her mind was able to comprehend a vast amount of information. Such a thing was a rarity given how they often required combat until the excess knowledge budded off into a separate materia entirely. He wondered how much information she could handle before her mind broke under the strain….

 _Thoughts for later_ , he thought to himself before continuing. "I cannot tell you how _frustrating_ it was to have to search for him after that, but I made it a personal mission. By the time I tracked him down two years afterwards, I found that he had consummated with her and the end result was that the heiress to the Cetra was born."

 _"Gast Faremis,"_ murmured the girl. She closed her eyes and held her hand to her chest, as though listening to a voice only she could hear. Was this the power of the Ancients to converse with the Planet? Was she asking for access to the knowledge of the Planet directly through to the Lifestream?

 _"Fascinating,"_ he whispered. "Tell me girl. What does it tell you? What does it tell you about the fate of a man of science who dared to compromise it for the sake of emotion?"

Tears trickled down her eyes as she opened them. "You killed him. You shot him right in front of mother when he tried to defend us… then you had the men with you get rid of his body."

"Hahaha, outstanding!" He couldn't help but laugh. What was it that enabled such a connection? What of the eighteen percent difference between the girl and her mother? Would that factor in as well? "Can you imagine all of the knowledge that could be obtained with such an ability? Oh, I can't wait to get you back into the lab!"

His laughter continued as she began to weep over the knowledge of her father's demise, until the long-haired terrorist stomped forward and cocked her fist back. The world spun with pain, only to come to an abrupt end upon impacting the hard floor. Then he was silenced.


	25. Chapter 25

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken : Revealed have arrived.**

 **Enjoy!**

"And he's out cold," Crimson said, looking down at the mad scientist who lay on the floor with his glasses broken. She turned her displeased glare towards Tifa, who stood there with her fist still outstretched. "Was that really necessary?"

"You can't tell me he didn't deserve it," she countered, pointing towards Aerith. "You heard him. He thinks nothing of others. He admitted to murdering someone just because they felt it would be wrong to deny basic human rights to others. Everything in the world is just something to poke and prod and experiment on for the sake of his curiosity."

"We still had questions to be asked though." She triggered the second Restore Materia Kunsel had bought and used the Cure spell to patch the broken nose and gashes he had. It was lucky that he didn't crack his skull. "He'll live, but if you've given him a concussion it'll make questioning him all the harder."

"I'll cast Heal to be safe," Aerith said, wiping away the tears. "I'm sorry. I thought after my Mother's death I could handle it, but when the Planet showed me… I watched it happen from her point of view, like I was living a nightmare."

Cloud and Tifa were quick to offer her kind words, knowing what it was like to lose family due to Sephiroth's attack. Crimson couldn't offer her any words of comfort like they could, having been an orphan from the start. Instead, she focused on the objective at hand and got the chair back up.

Hojo was still unconscious, leaving his head slouching forward. After Aerith cast a Heal to clear his mind of any potential confusion brought about by his impromptu trip to the floor, Crimson lightly slapped his cheek to wake him back up. "Get up, we're not done."

His eyes fluttered open and he shook his head, straining to get his arms free. After that failed, he looked up and huffed. "Was that really called for?"

"Yes," Tifa said. "You deserve more for everything you've done. You're a butcher who doesn't care who gets hurt as long as you can get what you want."

"I don't want to hear that from a terrorist," Hojo said, unimpressed. "AVALANCHE was hardly a shining beacon of innocence considering they once enlisted my help. They're the ones responsible for Sector 6's destruction when they unleashed Zirconiade, just as Sector 7 was yours."

"Sector 6 was destroyed months ago…" Tifa turned towards Crimson. "Is he lying?"

She shook her head. The only way to officially leave the Turks was in a body-bag and the mass desertion would have led to a witch-hunt if they were careless. So when the summoning was unleashed by the last leader of AVALANCHE, who decided to go the genocide route, after it was dealt with the others were announced KIA while she stayed with the Reno, Rude, and Tseng.

After that, Tseng needed to patch any holes and exploits that Heidegger could have used to bury the remaining Turks as a whole. That was when word about the motorbike reached Tseng and he pieced it together about her helping Zack and confronted her. Then Zack returned and everything went to Hell.

"That's the reason second incarnation of AVALANCHE was considered milder before you started blowing up the reactors," Crimson summed up so they could get to the topic on-hand.

"Yet, in the end, all they did was prove themselves to be the same as before," Hojo countered. "Nothing more than a bunch of thugs espousing they wish to protect the planet by killing the very people who are a part of it. How is that any different than Shinra?"

"Shut up!" Tifa's fist clenched at the unpleasant truth. "We're nothing alike."

Hojo continued. "At least my work is done for the sake of progress; you just use the Planet as an excuse to kill people. You're nothing more than hypocrites at your core, beneath the very people you decry as butchers."

Tifa lunged for him again, but Kunsel had been ready. He grabbed her arm before she could swing it again. "You'll kill him if you hit him again like that."

Hojo tilted his head in Crimson's direction. "Ask her. As the Turk just how many times AVALANCHE has done things as bad as I have. Ask her about the Ravens then, about Corel, about—"

"You know he's doing that on purpose, right?" Yuffie said, cutting him off. She continued when all eyes were on her. "It might be because I'm detached from this guy while all of you have something against him personally and can barely contain yourselves, but the more you fight, the longer he goes without answering the questions you want. He knows you need him alive and Shinra's going to come looking for him eventually, so he's keeping you busy to get out of answering anything."

"She's makes a convincing point," Kunsel acknowledged, turning to Crimson. "You and I will carry out the rest of the interrogation while the others will go outside and keep an eye on the surroundings."

The rest consented, albeit with some hesitation on Tifa's part. She glared at Hojo, but ultimately turned and headed up the stairs to leave the basement. Cloud followed after her, looking as though he wanted to say something, and the rest followed after him.

"No more distractions," Crimson said once they were gone. Lightning crackled in her hand. "You called Cloud a reject from your Reunion Theory the last time. We'll start from there. Tell me what you meant by that."

 **[-oOo-]**

"This is so stupid," Sutton couldn't help but say as he ran alongside the other two. They were following a dog in the middle of the night, only the night-vision of their goggles allowing them to track the hound as it chased after the scent of their target. "I didn't sign up for this."

The only reason he had joined Shinra was because it was the easiest way to get money. Being a coastal vacation paradise, Costa del Sol was expensive closer to the beach unless you wanted to live in the slums further inside. With the war over they weren't deployed often beyond getting rid of the occasional monsters that wandered too close to the town, so it was his way of saving up and living at the barracks.

The hound bound into an alley that led towards a portion of the city damaged during a hurricane that was left unrepaired and abandoned. The infantrymen occasionally used it for urban combat practice. With a sort of grace belaying its size, it leapt on top of a dumpster and then climbed over the fence.

"C'mon! We can't lose it," Lawrence said as he climbed on top of the dumpster and then over the fence as well. Sutton figured he would be the one most eager to keep his job. He was a military brat and his father had been an infantryman during the Wutai War. He couldn't be SOLDIER because he didn't pass the tests, but he told himself that as long as he was a part of the military his father would give his silent approval.

Cambert was next. He didn't say much when not spoken to by a superior. Then again, he'd been around longer than them and seemed to have worked under Heidegger more often that naught. That was usually enough to do the trick.

Sutton got into contact with the base using the radio and let them know where they were checking next, as ordered. Then he followed after the rest of them. His boots crunched down on broken glass as he landed and stood side-by-side with the other two as the hound sniffed the ground.

"…Damn this place is creepy at night," Sutton said as he looked over the scene. He could see some rats scurrying around on the ground, but not much else that looked remotely alive. It was possible someone could have taken their target here and they would spend hours searching blindly.

The hound gave a low chuff and then began to run, taking a right turn around a corner leading further into the desolated area. Sutton and the others followed, but he kept his hands on his gun to be safe. Firing without confirmation may have led to getting fired, but you couldn't spend the money if you were dead.

It was about five minutes into their run when the hound sudden came to a stop and started looking around in alarm. Cambert suddenly jerked back, holding a hand to his neck and dropping his gun. He fell to his knees and, as his hand slipped from his neck, the sheen of blood glistening in the moonlight revealed his throat had been cut. He tumbled down to the ground lifelessly afterwards.

Sutton and Lawrence stood in abrupt shock until the sound of the hound snarling and then scampering out of the way snapped them out of it. They moved as a ball of searing hot flames flew towards Lawrence. At the same time, a gouge was torn in the ground where Sutton had been by what he presumed was an invisible blade of some kind. Sutton managed to take shelter behind a wall. Lawrence wasn't so lucky and burned, his scream silenced by the flames instantly.

 **"We're under attack!"** Sutton screamed into the radio, the gun trembling in his hand as he did so. Then some kind of red beast whirled from behind the corner for him and the guard hound, a sphere of fire in its mouth. The flames flew forward and he screamed, dropping his sole means of communication in favor of shielding his eyes from the blinding glare.

He expected the pain—fire so hot that it licked his bones clean of every ounce of flesh and burned them to charred ashes. He could feel the heat burning patches of his skin and uniform, and it felt like his goggles were going to meld with his skin. He ripped the goggles off and opened his eyes to see the only thing that stopped him from suffering the same fate as his radio was the guard hound rushing in as the flames practically rolled off a sheen that surrounded it in order to deliver a bone-crushing bite.

The red beast snarled at the hound's fangs sinking into its corded muscles, bringing a paw around knock it off. Sutton then remembered that he was armed and took aim at the creature. The sound of gunfire filled the night air as bullets flew, some of the shots finding their way into its flesh. A Bolt spell from the guard hound joined them and elicited a pained sound from the beast's maw, forcing it to disappear around the bend again.

He rose back onto his feet, heart hammering in his chest. Whatever that thing was, it would likely come back. He didn't plan to stick around and die. The hound apparently had the same idea because it turned the way they came and bolted with him on its tail, courtesy of a fresh surge of adrenaline to make him forget his wounds and keep him moving forward.

It was when they were partway back that the hound came to a stop. It leered towards the darkness ahead and snapped off another Bolt spell. The bluish-white bolt smashed into a figure there and the tongues dancing over its body illuminated it enough that he could see it was a person.

Sutton let loose a barrage of gunfire as the electricity finished grounding itself. The person staggered back a step before shifting something and the bullets sounded like they were hitting metal. As the impacts caused sparks to fly, the brief moments of illumination allowed him to catch a better glimpse of his foe in the darkness. Someone with blonde hair and mako-colored eyes….

 _SOLDIER_ , was Sutton's final thought as the man rushed in with a sword in hand, upraised. He was fast. There was no time for him to react as it came down. There was only pain and then everything went dark….

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson had never been particularly good at, nor liked, torture. It was usually unnecessarily cruel and people would often say anything to make the pain stop. Using Sense was an easy way to get around that once she had mastered it, but that didn't change the fact that it was unpleasant on all fronts.

Hojo's body was at the point where it would spasm randomly from the constant application of the Bolt spell surging over his muscles and forcing contractions. He wheezed with every breath and he had lost control of his bladder. The resulting consequence of that was pooled at the base of the chair.

It was an ugly sight to see and it left her feeling uglier on the inside to know she did this to someone. But, upon coaxing a part of the information out of him that she sought, she couldn't help but feel he deserved every ounce of it. "You turned all of them into clones of Sephiroth!"

"Not on a _genetic_ level," he scoffed, sounding offended at that insinuation. "I merely used a similar method used to create Sephiroth. Everything from his conception onwards was arranged to make him as capable as he was. For people literally taken off the street, they couldn't hope to compare. Jenova's cells simply overtook their minds."

Her voice grew dangerously low as she leaned close, ignoring the scent surrounding him. "And you did the same thing to Cloud and Zack?"

"They were failures because they didn't take properly," Hojo said, still unrepentant. "I didn't expect him to awaken at all. However, these current developments are fascinating. It's possible there was a delayed reaction, maybe something in his genetics that I didn't take into account…."

Crimson swore under her breath as she tuned him out to think. The Reunion Theory explained both why Sephiroth attacked Shinra and Cloud's reaction in the research department. Jenova was influencing them both, drawing the former in and trying to gain a stronger hold on the latter.

If that was the case, what if it managed to overtake him entirely? That truly horrifying thought made her stomach drop. Cloud was already suffering from knowing he was borrowing Zack's memories. To know that he was a possible thrall of Jenova would likely send him over the edge of despair….

Crimson took a deep breath and turned to Hojo again. "You said that he was a failure, but he inherited the memories of the other SOLDIER who you also deemed a failure. They're tangled with his own. How do I fix them?"

"Anything that happens outside of the laboratory is an uncontrolled factor," he said with a shrug. "There are a number of reasons it could have happened, perhaps due to the influence of the cells implanted in them both or perhaps not. A pity, but there's nothing I can help you with there."

Sense told her there as an elevation in his pulse, a half-truth. Electricity flowed from her outstretched hand and into the mad scientist. "I've told you about lying. You have some idea of how to fix this, so talk!"

" _Ni-Nibelheim_ ," he rasped as the flow ceased, swallowing as he fidgeted under the lingering tongues of electricity. "The mako may have acted as a conduit for the memory transference in the same essence as the Lifestream carries knowledge of the Planet. My notes are there, in the archives of the manor and the safe."

She took note that his vitals were dropping, interfering with the reading. The jolt to her mind as she used the Cure spell left her lapsing in her thoughts briefly. She had been using too much mental power, but it wouldn't matter as long as she had the chance to recover.

Kunsel tapped on her shoulder as she finished healing him and whispered into her ears that the others had just killed three infantrymen. It wouldn't be long before whatever forces Shinra could muster would be there soon. They were pressed for time now.

 _"Tell them to get ready to leave,"_ she whispered. It wouldn't do for Hojo to overhear them and know ahead of time they would have to cut this short. _"And don't breathe a word of this to the others. Not like you did in Midgar. There are enough problems on our plate; I don't want to make this bigger than it needs to be. We'll handle this tactfully, but until then not a word."_

He frowned but nodded once. _"Fine."_

She watched him leave and then rubbed her eyes, feeling tired and unclean beneath her skin. Between having to torture someone, learning about all of this, having less time than they expected, and now lying, she couldn't help but miss the days when things were simpler. The price of her actions weren't weighing on her body as much as they were on her mind and soul.

"Lately, just about everything bad that's come out of Shinra is the result of your efforts, Professor Hojo," she said aloud. "The world would have been better off without you."

"And then there would be no mass-produced materia," he shot back. "There would be no SOLDIER and no defense against the creatures that roam this world. The only reason you're able to wield the power that you do right now is because of my work. Or do you denounce that as well for the sake of your hypocrisy?"

"The good doesn't outweigh the bad," Crimson countered. "Not anymore. I used to believe that what we and the company did made things better for the world, even if we had to do horrible things in the process. But I know better now."

"You think that makes up for everything?" He chuckled, despite the rasp and pain he must've been in. "The Turks have supplied me with test subjects for years, and that doesn't even begin to cover the other things they've had a hand in. How many atrocities have you been a part of, even by proxy? Do you think that feeling remorseful will wash your hands clean?"

"My hands are just as bloody as yours, but I am _not_ a monster like you."

"Yet you indulge in torture for convenience," Hojo pointed out. "But I suppose its fine as long as you do it to an enemy, whether of the company or whoever else you can place that label upon. It's quite easy then, isn't it? It makes it so much easier to see someone as less than a person… an acceptable target… a _test subject_ to be put to experimentation until destruction, all for the sake of sought knowledge."

Crimson wanted to deny it. Context behind actions mattered. She didn't do this because she enjoyed it like him. It had to be done to get answers and the others weren't capable of doing it.

They killed only to survive and every enemy they faced was one that would kill them if not killed in turn. To torture someone efficiently was to know how to hurt them, not how to kill them like in battle. It was how to prolong their suffering until they gave you want you wanted.

It was… it was something that chipped away at you on the inside as you willfully hurt someone else for the sake of convenience. It was something she hadn't been able to stomach when she first joined the Turks. Yet here she was….

Crimson was shaking before she realized it. That wouldn't do. She took a deep breath and pushed the rising feelings of self-loathing and disgust deep down inside. There was time for that later. For now she had to focus on what she could do.

They could search the Shinra Manor in Nibelheim for something that could help with his memory, but the biggest issue was the connection to Jenova by the Reunion Theory. Cloud already had enough doubts and fears about who he was and what he was becoming. The least she could do was give him the peace of mind to know he'd never become a monster. That meant she had to remove every other trace of Jenova from the face of the Planet.

It seemed Aerith's mission would also become hers in the end.


	26. Chapter 26

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken : Exactly the point!**

 **Enjoy!**

The night's wind billowed slightly as Kunsel stood atop the highest building he could find within the ruined section of Costa del Sol. With Crimson currently unavailable, he had been left in charge of handling the strategy and tactics. Binoculars fixed against his eyes and shades perched on top of his head, he used the Night-Vision mode to assess the threat laid before them.

It didn't look good. Shinra's local branch had mobilized all of the forces they could spare, a modest number given the recent losses and relocations but still unfavorable. Fortunately, their goal wasn't to win. It was to buy time and escape without getting caught. To do that, they would have to get _mean_.

"Red XIII and Cloud," he called to the rest of the gathered party behind him. "They won't raze the place with missiles because they want Hojo and Aerith, which means they'll send in soldiers and robotic weapons. I need you two to focus on them. "

He pointed towards where he spotted a contingent moving in with air support. "Red XIII, you have the more destructive spells so you handle the helicopters and any machinery you find. Not a single one can be up and running if this is going to work. I placed my last spare Ether inside of your pouch, so make it count."

"Very well," Red XIII acknowledged.

"Cloud, you focus on maiming their soldiers. Take off their limbs, fingers, and so on until I call you back." It felt disconcerting that he was so blasé while casually suggesting they immediately resort to dismemberment. "Use the battlefield to your advantage and let the threat of friendly fire check their gunfire. If I remember right, they'll probably have some Mighty Grunts in their ranks too that you'll have to settle for destroying with brute force."

Cloud looked confused at that last one. "Mighty Grunts?"

"Soldiers wearing red powered-armor," he clarified. "Heidegger named them."

"Why maim them?"Aerith asked.

"Pragmatism," Kunsel said in a matter-of-fact tone. "We need to buy time. Inflicting wounds that can be healed with a Restore Materia or a Potion means they'll be able to get right back into the fight until they overwhelm you with pure numbers. Likewise, cutting down their ranks means they can leave the dead where they lay and slowly close in on us. But if you mutilate them, their pain and agony will demoralize the others and it will take up supplies to keep them alive."

It was a basic, if cruel tactic. These people may have been soldiers in Shinra's army, but they had friendships and rivalries with one another. They weren't monsters who couldn't empathize with the pain of a comrade's suffering. They couldn't stand back and watch them without feeling the creeping dread of fear at the thought of joining the ranks of the physically impaired.

He looked towards the girls next. "Miss Lockhart, Yuffie, I want you two to act as saboteurs. Without being seen, take care of their vehicles and find where they deploy their mechanical forces from before they reconfigure them all to comb through the area. Once you have, tell Red XIII so he can hit them with the biggest spell he has. Aerith, how mobile can you be?"

She touched the Summoning Materia attached to her Carbon Bangle. It warmed in response. "Mog is ready to help."

"Then you're on support for Cloud if he comes under fire, but stay out of sight. They'll be trying to capture you as well. Put all of your PHS on vibrate and we'll use that as the signal to start the attack. Call when you complete your objectives."

With that said, they moved out.

 **[-oOo-]**

The streets were littered with infantrymen, spanning back and forth as they looked through their scopes and goggles for any sign of hostiles, with helicopters whirring above and shining their searchlights down. They had split into several groups, spread out in units to fan out in order to fulfill their given mission. The orders they received were clear, eliminate anyone they found save the Professor and the girl with long, brunette hair and green eyes. They were to secure those two at any cost, by force if necessary.

One particular group suffered from being the first to learn the sheer scope of how difficult that would be after a salvo of missiles sailed for the helicopter above their heads. An explosion rocked the air as the aircraft was turned into burning wreckage that fell to the ground. Their collective urban combat training kicked in and their first instinct was to take cover using the buildings as shields.

Something leapt overhead and they opened fire, filling the air with the sound of gunfire, only for the silhouette to make it to the next building and continue on unimpeded. That was when the blonde-haired swordsman leapt from the shadows of another building at their rear, mako-enhanced muscles carrying him high as he pulled a sword off his back. The Earth Materia slotted inside of it glowed dully as he brought the blade down and smashed it into the sole Mighty Grunt that was in the center of their group.

The Mythril Saber cleaved it and the pilot inside in twain before becoming the epicenter of a Quake spell. Earth, asphalt, and concrete were uprooted and overturned in a billowing wave, toppling the infantrymen nearby as the buildings that had been weak from urban decay and the initial storm collapsed upon a few. The rest fired blindly into the veil of dust that had been thrown up by the spell until pained screams from friendly fire had them stay their hands. Beyond the pained groans from the survivors and the crumbling surroundings, all was quiet….

Then the mako-eyed swordsman burst through the dirty veil and brought the blade down upon the closest of their number to him. The wet sound of steel parting flesh-from-flesh rang out and the screaming began anew as the Mythril-made blade took his arms off at the elbow. Without missing a beat, he swiveled on his feet and brought it down again on the infantryman next to the first of the dismembered, who had panicked in his attempts to avoid it. He lost half his body instead of an arm, wet chunks falling down.

"Monster!" cried a third, drowned out by the sound of another helicopter exploding in the distance. Not all of their ranks had simply stopped at bringing their standard-issued firearms. He thrust out his hand sporting a Mythril Armlet and let loose a Fire spell from the materia that was fixed into the slot.

The fireball hit the swordsman dead on, only to roll off his skin with minor burns at best. He leapt for the infantryman and the Mythril Saber took off the outstretched hand, as though offended it had been used against him. The swordsman then turned the blade flat and literally batted him into the line-of-fire from another of their rank, leaving the soldier to take the intended gunfire in the swordsman's place.

Before any of the other survivors could try using anymore mass-produced materia that they bought on their own, a burst of magic washed over all of their ranks in the area and filled their heads with the white noise of a Silence spell. It left them unable to connect with the materia properly and thus at the swordsman's mercy. More screams of pain and death followed as they were felled.

Then the mako-eyed swordsman sought out another group to continue doing a Butcher's work, followed by a silent and somber observer on the back of a chocobo.

 **[-oOo-]**

Tifa landed silently in a crouch behind enemy lines and clung to the shadows well enough that she went unseen. Kunsel had been right. She could hear the chaos unfolding as other infantrymen listened through the radio at the screams for help and for the pain to stop. It clearly unnerved the two of them by their body posture and how tightly they held onto their weapons.

What she didn't hear was Yuffie appearing next to her. The girls were in an alley at the northern end, where they found the jeeps and military trucks that the soldiers had rode in. Two grenade-carrying soldiers wielding machine guns patrolled the perimeter in a pattern.

 _"I've got that one,"_ Tifa whispered as she pointed to the grenadier on the right. _"You take the other."_

Yuffie nodded and pulled out her Wind Slash. Then she moved with such deftness and silence it could be considered an art the way she slinked through the shadows and blind spots. Tifa could see why Wutai lasted as long as they did against Shinra when others hadn't.

Tifa waited for the guard she was targeting to pass by the alley as she lurked behind a dumpster and then snuck up behind him. She used a strong Hammer Fist directly against the back of his skull, a blow hard enough to break bricks and dent steel. He dropped like a puppet with his strings cut into Tifa's arms and his neck was deftly snapped before she dragged him into the shadows.

The second one noticed the other guard's absence when he was supposed to be on the other side of the row of vehicles. He reached for his radio only for a breeze to pass by and a flash of steel preceded crimson blood dripping down from his throat, which had been nearly cut in half. Yuffie flicked her weapon and let the blood fly off after she dragged his corpse into the alley.

Tifa checked and made sure no one saw the kills. So far so good. Then she turned around to find Yuffie looting the corpses. "Really?"

Yuffie shrugged nonchalantly as she put their Gil and Tranquilizers into her pouch before taking a total of eight Grenades on two bandoliers off them. She attached them to herself and pulled out a kunai and some wire before darting out again and slipping under the vehicles. It was three minutes before she emerged from under them and came back to Tifa, smelling faintly of gasoline and missing the grenades and wire.

"What'd you do?" Tifa asked.

Yuffie counted off with her fingers. "Punctured the gas tanks, cut the brake-lines, and rigged the grenades to go off at key points if someone moves the tires of a couple of them. If I had more time and stuff I could have done something more thorough, but that should take care of anyone following us afterwards."

"Good enough," Tifa said. "Sabotage complete, let's go find where the robots are coming from and tell Red where to fire."

 **[-oOo-]**

Missile constructs from the Matra Magic left trails of smoke in the air as they curved around at the fleeing helicopter. It didn't escape. The explosion that followed illuminated the night sky for a brief moment and revealed glimpses of steel rising from below his perch on the building.

The whirling of blades reached Red XIII's ears. They were Sword Dances, slithering through the air with their buzz-saw like heads. The moment they came over the edge they curled up and became saw-blades that cut through the air to him.

He leapt from the top of the building to the ground and let loose another salvo of Matra Magic, damaging them to the point of ceasing function with the exception of one. That one uncurled itself into its longer form, sparks dancing from the damaged machinery. He followed with a Fire spell to blast it into scrap.

Red XIII's nostrils flared as he breathed deep the air of the night and found it foul, polluted with burning metal, machine oil, blood, and ozone. How he longed for the scents of Cosmo Canyon after so many years in comparison. But the path to reaching it was one that would be filled with the foul scent until the very end.

He stirred from his musings as he caught the sounds of a Moth Slasher coming down the street, churning the ground beneath it as it rushed forward with spinning blades. His leg muscles tensed to charge it when he caught the faint scent of the fighter and the thief from above. A falling Axe-Kick delivered by the former as she landed crushed the machine's cranial unit and sent it askew, whereupon Red XIII hit it with a Fire spell to finish the job when the automaton began to try and pick itself up.

"Tell me you have found where these contraptions keep coming from," he said to the thief as she approached. "I've grown tired of dealing with them."

"Follow me!" She took off and Red XIII followed her as she led him over the rooftops until they reached a point where he could see the temporary encampment and trucks where the machines were being deployed from. The fighter landed next to them and kept her head low.

"Can you take care of it?" she asked. "You've been using a lot of spells. The mental fatigue must be catching up to you."

He bit down on the zipper of the pouch on his upper foreleg and pulled to unzip it. His teeth found the Ether bottle and he leaned his head back before biting down hard enough to pierce it. The lack of opposable thumbs left few options, but it worked all the same as he found his mental fatigue fading, a sense of clarity and focus returning to his mind. He tossed aside the bottle and then warned them to get back as he linked to his Summoning Materia.

 **"Scorch and burn it all—"** Fire engulfed Red XIII, swallowing his frame without burning him to the bones, as the connection was made. **"—IFRIT!"**

The mass of flames launched itself towards the encampment. When it came down a thunderous crash of force and heat spread outwards in a searing dome that engulfed the center of the encampment. A mighty roar scattered the flames out in a wave as the fire elemental was revealed all its primal and bestial glory—a towering figure of muscle whose modesty was only preserved by a loincloth, flames draping its limbs and billowing between a pair of curved horns like a wild mane of hair, and pitch-black eyes that reflected the loose tongues fire that seemingly danced around it.

The guards that had been on the fringes and perimeter all opened fire, but the summoning's flesh was tempered by the flames. It merely cast them a disinterested glance before inhaling and letting loose another roar. The air around the summoning flared and grew hot enough that breathing it in burned their very lungs. They died quickly, clawing at their chests as their flesh seared and flaked.

Then came the automatons. Crafted from steel and wires that didn't bow to the searing air, exhaust billowed out as coolant flowed through their systems and regulated their internal temperature. They readied their blades and machineguns and attempted to slay the fire giant.

A mockery of smile formed on the Djinn's face, revealing a pair of fangs that curved outwards. Its goat-like legs tensed and burst forward in a mighty lunge that let it meet the first of the mechanical foes it had been sent out to destroy. The claws wrapped around both arms of the Moth Slasher and _pulled_ , tearing off the limbs and discarding them.

It thrust its claws through the steel-plating of the automaton's torso with ease, rending the metal to expose the wires and internal fluids that were flammable. The flames that draped its limbs set them ablaze and the resulting explosion widened its expression of revelry at the beauty of it.

That was its nature. Whereas Shiva was calm and cold, bringing a subtle and solemn death that left everything in a silent lull in its wake, Ifrit was the incarnation of a raging inferno that existed only to incinerate everything around it and leave nothing behind. It stood proudly amidst the flames and wreckage, roaring in delight as it tore apart anything that hadn't melted yet.

The thief whistled as she looked on at the resulting destruction when there was a series of explosions and alarms coming from the end where the two women had been prior. "Looks like the traps I set up went off."

"That takes care of everything then." The fighter pulled out her PHS. "I'll tell them we're done on our part."

"Wait…." Red XIII ears caught something, beyond the crackling of flames and rampaging summoning that was melting the last of the visible automatons to slag. "Something's still there. Something big."

"There is?" The thief leaned up on the tip of her toes and peered into the distant firelight. "Where?"

The answer came as a mechanical fist burst through the curtain of flames and met the head of the fire elemental in mid-rampage. The blow loud enough to be heard by both the fighter and the thief at their current distance left Ifrit staggering, holding onto its head and snarling. Hellfire burst from its other outstretched claw towards the source of its pain, but the flames did nothing to stop the whirring of rotating barrels that preceded a hail of gunfire. Where the infantrymen's machineguns weren't able to succeed, the penetrating power of the current ammunition punched holes in the summoning until it was dispersed and its materia went dull.

 _"Ohhhh… that's not good,"_ said the thief, pointing out the obvious as she reached into her pouch of various stolen materia.

 _ **It**_ emerged from the flames with heavy, booming steps. A battle-suit made of several tons of steel in the form of a two-legged walking tank with thick joints to act as a knees and elbows. On one shoulder was a Gatling-gun and on the other was a rocket launcher, and it probably had other features compartmentalized.

 _"Gyahaahaahaa!"_ came from the machine, courtesy of an internal speaker. _"If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself!"_

Red tracking beams skimmed across the surroundings from a series of sensors until one passed by them on the rooftop. The 'head' of it turned in their direction. The shoulder-mounted rocket launcher took aim and fired afterwards.


	27. Chapter 27

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Littie Rookie: Thank you!**

 **Kazeshuriken: Thanks!**

 **BukkakenNoJutsu: Yes it is.**

 **Enjoy!**

Heidegger smirked as he adjusted the cigar in his mouth, staring at three of the vermin that had been sabotaging his forces through a monitor. Give Scarlet credit where it was due, she could build a machine made for war when not off painting her nails. Even with the funding restrictions Shinra's entitled brat placed on them, they had managed to salvage enough data from the Airbuster's black box and scrape together enough parts to put together this baby—the **Airbuster Alpha**.

Once the targeting system locked onto the three on the rooftop he pushed the trigger. The shoulder-mounted rocket launcher fired four missiles at the terrorist rat, Hojo's lab rat, and the third rat they picked up somewhere, slightly jostling the framework in the process. He made a mental note to have that fixed later on.

Hojo's lab rat seemed to have learned some new tricks over the years, because it fired a salvo of its own missiles to intercept the ones that he fired. The resulting explosions and smoke obscured the camera, but a Bolt spell punched through it to hit the Airbuster Alpha. It did nothing—they'd learned from the last one to coat the surface in insulated plating.

He aimed the Gatling-gun where the lightning came from and pulled the trigger. The whirl of the barrels and repetitive drumming of bullets being fired was buffered by the thick metal exterior, but orange streaks were visible as the rounds punched through the smoke and showed they were missing.

"Slippery rats…." Heidegger clicked his teeth in mild frustration, chomping down on his cigar. Sneaky as they were, he wouldn't let them escape. His foot pressed down on the pedal to move when there was a beeping noise to signal an incoming communication. He pressed a button on the control panel to allow the audio feed to come through.

It was Rufus. " _Heidegger, the Turks are en route and will be in the area within ten minutes._ "

He resisted the urge to question the worth in bringing those outdated incompetents into the operation when they were the reason most of their problems occurred in the first place. They had allowed the traitors to live and everyone else was paying the price now. Their cover-up allowed for these… monsters of Hojo's to diminish their military and kill the President. It was only fitting that he ended up being taken by them after the coward cut-and-ran when they came for their creator.

"I'm engaging them now," he told his superior, hiding his thoughts behind his words with his gruff voice. "I can find where Hojo is and eliminate the vermin before they arrive."

" _Remember that I want the Ancient and Hojo alive. Be careful with that little toy of yours._ " The feed cut then as Rufus hung up.

"Entitled little shit," he spat as he flipped the switch to activate the radar. Rufus was nothing more than a fence-sitter who only watched, afraid to take risks like his father and men who actually did something other than give orders. The moment the sensors pinged three moving signals, he used the joystick to shift the battlesuit in that direction to give chase and a smile crossed his face.

"Time for a rat hunt."

 **[-oOo-]**

Yuffie was never fond of the sound of rockets flying through the air or gunfire. They both reminded her too much of her home during the bad times, the war years ago. The explosions that followed as Red XIII fired his own to intercept the battlesuit's also brought back the memories of friends of her family who went out to fight and never came back after she heard that sound in the distance.

"Can't you two call out those summoning things and have them do something about this!?" she finally asked as she fired another Bolt spell that washed harmlessly off the surface of the machine. "Why isn't this working!?"

"It's probably insulated somehow," Tifa huffed as she ran. "And both the summonings are recovering from being destroyed. Shiva was caught in the explosion when the ship blew up and Ifrit was just taken apart by that Gatling-gun. They can't do anymore."

The whirling of the barrels reached their collective ears. They ducked into an alley before the streaking orange shots of the Gatling-gun tore through them with even greater ease than they did the summoning. Tifa quickly used her Ice Materia to erect a pillar of ice to seal off the entry to the alley as they moved towards the other end with their heads low, a spray of debris falling down as the rounds punched through the building walls. It would only buy the seconds at best.

"If we don't do something we're going to die!" Yuffie fished through her pouch for any materia that would help. They were supposed to be able to turn the tide against anything, which is why she wanted them in the first place—to give Wutai the power to return to their former glory—but most of them wouldn't work on the war-machine that was coming after them if the Thunder Materia couldn't.

"Perhaps we need a stronger spell!" Red XIII suggested with a huff as he moved. "Had I the mental power, I could try the same spell I used against the abomination."

"But you can't," Tifa pointed out. "Maybe a strong variation of the Bolt spell would work, but the only one of us who has the materia that can do that is using it to interrogate Hojo. Don't you have a Sense Materia that you could use to see any weaknesses it might have?"

She shook her head. Even if she did, Yuffie wouldn't use it. Not after the last time. Having all that knowledge pour into her head was like boiling water filling up her brain until her skull was overrun with knowledge about even the minutest details of _everything_ around her. It was a miracle her mind didn't entirely break, and said a lot about how the former Turk had apparently acclimated to using that Materia to such an extent that she could handle it.

More rockets were launched, angled to come from above. This time Red XIII used a Fire spell to ignite one that caught the others up in a chained explosion. Yuffie hoped the reason he used that spell rather that the missile one wasn't because he didn't have the strength of mind to do so. "Get the others on the phone and have them help us!"

The older girl reached for the phone only for the wall next to them to explode as the battlesuit burst through it for a surprise attack. Its giant mechanical fists descended to squash them like insects and all three of them jumped on reflex in different directions. It turned towards Tifa first and the barrel of its Gatling-gun began to rotate.

Red XIII was wreathed in the light of a Limit Break and then coated in a shroud of blue energy. He threw himself at the battlesuit as hard as he could using his ancestral technique and struck like a cerulean meteor. It threw the aim off, leaving the gunfire peppering the ground near the downed martial artist as she moved away, preparing a spell of her own judging from the white and blue frost gathering in the palm of her hands.

The mechanical arm backhanded the sapient beast. It knocked him to the ground and, before he could recover, it grabbed him and threw him like a fastball through the air. He crashed into the weakened wall of a building that collapsed upon him in the aftermath. The shoulder-mounted rocket launcher then came around to fire upon where the rubble shifted as he tried to dig himself out.

Frost and rime flew forward and slammed into it, expanding into a mass of ice that wrapped around the rocket launcher and encased it before the missiles could fire. With no way to escape they exploded within the launcher and ignited the other rockets it had in stock. The explosion that resulted blew the walking-tank onto its back, buying time for them to get over and dig Red XIII out. They managed to pull him out and found him covered in blood as shrapnel dug into his flesh.

"Come on, Red." Tifa hoisted him onto her back. "You're alright. We'll get you Aerith."

" _No, you won't._ " The booming sound that shook the ground reached their ears as the battlesuit rose to its feet and took aim with its Gatling-gun. " _Now you—_ "

"Stop it!" yelled a new voice, Aerith. She hopped down from the back of the chocobo and stood between the three of them and the gun, using her body as a shield while she cast a group wide Cure 2 spell. "You can't get them without going through me!"

" _That's what you think._ " The hiss of pressure being released came from behind the battlesuit before four rings emerged and circled her. They took up a formation and wrapped her in a pyramid-like structure before hoisting her in the air towards the mech. " _Ancient retrieved._ "

Aerith tried to break herself out. But the moment her staff touched the barrier that sealed her within, it released a powerful electric current that left her screaming until she passed out. With her out of the way, Heidegger prepared to open fire.

Cloud appeared in front of them at the very last moment as the near-mastered Cover Materia he received from Kunsel shone and guided his movements, his larger sword that looked like a thick slab of steel shaped into a blade held in a defensive pose. The Gatling-gun's rounds punched through the moogle and chocobo only to pound at the Buster Sword in a failed attempt to do the same. Instead, each hit felt like a sledgehammer pounding against it, leaving his knees to strain themselves to keep from buckling while holding his pose to cover them.

 _He's not going to last long_ , Yuffie realized. Once he went down, they would be mowed down entirely unless she did something. She swapped out her ineffective materia for different ones, making sure her Throw Materia was slotted into her bangle. A soft exhale left her mouth as prepared herself, the muscles in her legs tensing…

Then she moved. The wind on her back she darted out from the shelter of the SOLDIER and curved around to approach the war-machine from an angle. Yuffie used Throw, sending the 4-point Shuriken she brought with her from home flying towards the Gatling-gun and wedging it in between the rotating barrels, causing it to jam. Equipping her Wind Slash in place of it, she moved in and cut at the source of the tracking beams to disable the sensors.

" _Wutai Rat_!" shouted Heidegger as he brought the metal fist down, only for her to flip out of the way. A hatch opened and revealed a group of lenses. " _Agile little thing aren't you? Try dodging this_!"

Yuffie did her best to dodge as the lenses fired a series of red lasers that curved to try and hit her, weaving around and letting them smash into the ground and rubble surrounding her with agile flips. But the sound of the metal shuriken straining as the Gatling-gun tried to continue firing reached her ears. Ice blossomed in her hand as she used her Ice Materia freeze the area around the shuriken wedged between the barrels in place at the expense of dodging the laser fire.

The beams struck home and a scream left her mouth as they hit her with a concussive force that hammered her into the ground. He fired again, intending to finish her off. Cloud appeared in front of her again thanks to the Cover Materia and shielded her from the impact.

Yuffie picked herself off the ground as the light of the Limit Break wreathed her, born from her pain and anger. She grabbed hold of it and entered a state of tranquility that she had been taught from a young age. The power turned into a soothing and healing one, spreading it out to encompass all of them and heal their wounds so they could continue to fight. Then, when the lasers readied to fire again, she used another Ice spell to coat the lenses with a thick layer of ice and distort the beams.

Cloud ran in with his mako-enhanced strength, swapping out the Buster Sword for the Mythril Saber on his back. He brought it around and carved into the thick metal of the war-machine through a combination of the sword's sharpness and his strength. Then he thrust it forward in an attempt to impale where he believed the cockpit to be.

The Airbuster Alpha's mechanical hand caught the blade before it could pierce deep. The gears whirled faster beneath the exterior as the pressure increased until the blade couldn't take it anymore and shattered, leaving him only with the hilt of the blade and the materia slots. The digits of the hand then wrapped themselves around his body and lifted him into the air before it started to do the same again.

 **"Aggggahhhhh!"** slipped out of Cloud's mouth as the pressure increased in an attempt to crush every bone in his body. Only the Buster Sword on his back stopped it from completely doing so, its girth acting as a stopgap. But there was no telling how long that would last. Zack's parting gift could only support him for long.

"Cloud!" Tifa yelled as Red XIII got back onto his feet. Righteous anger became her cloak and source of strength as she exploded forward with her frame shrouded in the fierce light of her Limit Break. She leapt up onto the battlesuit and her fist lashed out with each word, the blows hammering her mechanical foe hard enough to rattle the metal frame and dent it. " **LET! HIM! GO!** "

The Airbuster Alpha's torso rotated abruptly and then came to a sudden stop, throwing her off as her bolstered strength faded. She gasped for air, her chest rising and falling as she got back on her feet to see that Cloud was still in the death grip, pounding away at its hold with his own fist to no avail. Heidegger's guffaw rang out at the sight. " _Gyahaha—_ "

It abruptly ended when Kunsel descended from above and brought his own blade down.

 **[-oOo-]**

Kunsel made his way toward the sound of automatic gunfire and general destruction after seeing that thing Heidegger had unleashed and calling Crimson to tell her to bring Hojo out as a hostage. He kicked himself for not planning for it, not anticipating it despite knowing Heidegger salvaged a robot of some kind from the sunken ship. He didn't expect they would have been transporting a machine specifically to kill SOLDIERs when they were unaware that Cloud's group was even onboard the Cargo Ship.

Now Zack's girlfriend had been captured and the rest were about to die. They couldn't do enough damage fast enough despite him giving them better equipment and materia he had gotten over the course of the last few years. Screw that.

He jumped from above with a mastered Gravity Materia in the slot of his sword. It coated his blade and increased its density and weight. He added to it further with a spinning motion as he fell down, smashing the blade into the joint part of the arm that made up its 'Elbow' as hard as he could.

So much force and weight being applied to a small area ended up breaking the joint, hitting more like a sledgehammer than a sword. It severed everything from that point down from the main body, dropping Cloud back onto the ground. He pulled himself out of the mechanical fingers and readied the Buster Sword after fitting it with materia.

" _Who the hell are you!?_ " Kunsel heard coming from the speakers, but he paid it little mind. Instead, he swung up an upward arc with all the strength he could muster and ran the blade through the rings that kept Aerith prisoner, shattering the pyramid-like prison and dropping her into his arms. She was unconscious, but alive as he put some distance between them.

The battlesuit's arm smashed into the ice and shuriken to un-jam the Gatling-gun, only for the air surrounding it to distort and grow heavy as Kunsel triggered the Demi 3 spell. The gears and internal mechanisms strained to support the already massive weight of the battlesuit as the intensified gravity caved in the ground beneath it.

A scream of unmitigated rage came over the speakers as Heidegger lost his temper at last. " _Why won't any of you die already!?_ "

"We're persistent," said the final member of their party. Heads turned towards Crimson, who was hoisting Hojo in front of her. The man himself was gagged and looked like Hell, his body twitching even while unconscious. Kunsel doubted he'd ever be able to so much as walk straight again from the electrical damage to his nerves and muscles, even with medical treatment. "This ends now, Heidegger."

" _Traitor!_ " he barked over the sound of gravity still putting his war-machine on its knees. " _I'll personally do what Tseng should have done and put a bullet in your head!_ "

"No you won't." She put her Rekka at Hojo's throat, using the flat end so she didn't accidently cut it when he twitched. "The moment that spell wears out, you're going to get out of that hunk of scrap metal and tell your boss to call off his hunt. Otherwise, I'll slit his throat and you won't learn anything—like the fact that he made clones of Sephiroth."

A sort of horrid quiet settled over the assembled group as that bit of news circulated in their minds. Kunsel frowned at how easily she let that information slip after lecturing him about it for a second until he understood what she was getting at. They didn't know he made the Sephiroth clones, but it was easily imaginable that a madman like him would do so. Never mind that they weren't actual clones on a genetic level, just the thought would give them pause and force them to prioritize his wellbeing.

Heidegger was a spiteful man, but even he wouldn't be so dumb as to risk killing them before getting as much out of Hojo about that as he could. Not unless he was absolutely certain whatever he had in the works could deal with him. And, considering his battlesuit was on its last legs, Kunsel doubted he believed that very much at present.

He let a silent but strong exhalation escape from his nostrils. It seemed like things would wind down now. They would take Hojo and use him to get Shinra off their trail long enough to get out of Costa del Sol. He knew one place that the company couldn't do as they pleased and the group could take time to plan their next move.

Then it all went wrong as Red XIII yelled in Crimson's direction and a single gunshot rang out. Time seemed to move in slow motion as blood sprayed from Crimson's body. She fell to the ground, and her weapon clattered from her grasp as she laid there in a slowly expanding pool of blood….


	28. Chapter 28

**Another chapter is here!**

 **patrick the almighty observer: Wishful thinking.**

 **Kazeshuriken: Read and see.**

 **Enjoy!**

It hadn't been hard for Tseng and the other Turks to find the priority targets. Heidegger had drawn them out. Now it was up to them to retrieve Hojo and they mobilized accordingly, using the overbearing presence of the war-machine to slip in close as the group of hostiles put it on its last legs with the appearance of another unaccounted for person.

 _"We're in position, sir."_ Elena said through the ear-piece. The line they were using to remain in contact with one another was separated from Shinra's standard one, and the frequency had been changed after former agent Cissnei's departure and betrayal.

"Be ready to move," he ordered as he set up his sniper rifle. He was only guaranteed one shot and there was really only one choice target to eliminate if they were to secure Hojo's safety. Tseng peered through the scope at Crimson's head and placed his finger on the trigger.

 _She brought it on herself_ , he told himself. He'd given her a chance to get out and had been fully prepared to pay for the consequences of his actions. That applied to her as well. If she thought going against the company to this extent was necessary, then she should have been prepared to die for it so the others left behind didn't suffer for it.

The red creature's nose twitched and it shouted in her direction. It must've caught their scent. Careless of them, but they were in a rush.

Tseng pulled the trigger just as she turned in his direction. The last thing he saw in her eyes through the scope was a look of surprise before the hammer of the gun sounded. The round punched through her torso because of how she had turned, denying her the mercy of a swift death.

For a moment, after hitting the ground, she tried to raise her hand. The purpose of doing so eluded Tseng, but it was a moot point when her strength left her and the hand fell lifelessly on the ground. Her eyes shut and her head tilted to the side, but the shallow rising and falling of her chest gave away she was still alive.

Tseng chambered another round. Even though that level of blood-loss would be fatal in minutes and Hojo was out of immediate danger, he had to make sure it stuck. It was his duty to the company and his mess to clean-up in the end. He had her head in his sights and readied to pull the trigger again….

 _"Sir, you have to escape!"_ Elena shouted through the ear-piece.

It was all that saved him as a steadily brightening glare of light bore down on him in the form of a crescent wave. The source was the former Infantryman warped by Hojo's experiments. His cry of rage somehow sounded over the thrum of pure power flying towards the head of the Turks with enough force to tear through the building he was in as easily as it would a human body.

Tseng showed no sign of distaste at having to leave it to the others to finish. But it was there, buried beneath the surface as he triggered the Exit Materia. He used the Escape spell, teleporting off the battlefield before the Blade Beam brought the building he was in down and buried the sniper rifle that almost ended the life of one of his former agents.

 **[-oOo-]**

The former Second-Class lamented his carelessness as Crimson hit the ground. It was a moment born from the lapse in his guard at the prospect of having finally settled things, backed by the deep hum of the Demi 3 spell as it gradually wore off. Crimson's blood seeping into the cracks in the asphalt was the price of that carelessness, pooling around her more and more with every beat of her failing heart.

Cloud, on the other hand, promptly lost it. He let loose a rage-filled scream that fueled a Blade Beam he fired straight towards where Red XIII turned his head. It tore through the building, very likely killing the sniper but Kunsel wouldn't say for certain until he saw a corpse. Cloud seemed to be of the same mind as he ran towards the site, lost in his rage as the gravity-intensifying spell wore off.

Heidegger's war-machine was on its last legs, but that didn't stop him now that they no longer had a hostage and the spell ended. The barrels of the Gatling-gun spun and the lenses of the thawed lasers grew luminous. He intended to unleash everything at once to ensure he killed them.

Kunsel put a stop to it with his own Limit Break, born from his failings. It was similar to Cloud's Blade Beam, a manifestation of condensed energy released in two flicks of his wrist and blade. The dual slashes that formed an 'X' sped toward the war-machine, leaving behind motes of mako-colored light in their wake as they smothered the bullets and lasers to hit the entire thing like an onrushing train.

The husk of metal went flying backwards and then tumbled against the asphalt, its body breaking off into pieces as it scraped against the unforgiving ground. Eventually, it slid to a stop and revealed Heidegger strapped into the remnants of his cockpit. Blood formed a curtain on his face, covering one side and meshing with his beard as he wheezed, but the proud clod was still alive.

Kunsel shifted his focus to saving Crimson now, reaching down into his pouch and using a Phoenix Down to stir Aerith awake. Horror crossed her face as he pointed to where the Crimson had fallen and she pushed herself out of his grip to rush towards her, staff forgotten. Kunsel then turned to finish off Heidegger as he struggled to get out of his seat.

He didn't drop his guard a second time as he approached. That was why he recognized the metal canisters hitting the ground. He covered his shades and got the warning out just before they went off. **"Flash Grenades!"**

They went off in a flash of blinding light, eliciting screams from the others. However, his mako-enhanced hearing picked up three sets of rushing footsteps. He uncovered his eyes to see a muscular man dressed a suit was approaching Heidegger.

Kunsel's leg muscles tensed as he kicked off the ground with his sword chambered, intending to kill Heidegger as the Turk reached him. The blade came down, only to cleave through twisted metal and the seat he was in. They were both gone.

 _"What?"_ he murmured in confusion until a pained scream from Red XIII. He turned his head towards where Hojo was and saw the red-haired Turk jabbing the electro-rod into Red XIII's neck and triggering it while the others cleared their vision. The Turk then kneeled and touched Hojo before vanishing with him in a brief flicker of light.

That left the third one. She was heading for Aerith to do the same no doubt. They were going to kidnap her! "Aerith, behind you!"

Aerith was still blinking out the bright spots in her eyes and couldn't dodge in time, but Yuffie intervened before the Turk could touch her. She brought her Wind Slash around and carved open a gash that would have completely taken off her arm if she hadn't pulled it back. A blast of fire from the kunoichi's materia then bought them some space as the Turk backed off.

Cloud roared as he leapt over Yuffie's head, Buster Sword chambered above his own. He was getting ready to cut the Turk in twain when, like the others, she vanished in a flash. This time Kunsel caught sight of a materia glowing in a slot beneath her sleeve as she escaped empty-handed.

Aerith kneeled in the pool of blood and touched Crimson's neck to feel her pulse. It was faint but there. She immediately began the process of healing her, casting Cure 2 and knitting together the punctured arteries and everything within. But Crimson's face remained shaded a ghostly pallor and her breathing shallow.

"Why isn't it working?" Cloud asked heatedly, aggravation in his voice at the fact that there was nothing he could do.

"The spell healed the wounds, but she still lost a lot of blood and her body is weak," Aerith told them. "The best I can do is stabilizing her by constantly applying the spell, so that it holds together and keeps her alive. But…."

"If we don't get her to a hospital she'll die," Tifa picked up where the healer trailed off. "It'll take real doctors and a blood transfusion to save her at this point, but they'll be watching the hospitals."

"I know somewhere we can take her," Kunsel said as he pulled out his PHS. "Get her to the van. We're getting out of here now."

He watched as Cloud kneeled down and picked Crimson up, ignoring the blood rolling down his body with its cooling slickness. The blonde-haired swordsman angled her properly so that her head was cradled against the crook of his arm and ran off towards the van. He followed as the line connected.

"Dio, it's me. I need your help."

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson found herself in darkness, struggling to recall the last moments before she ended up there. The pain of the bullet punching through her body had been immense, like a red-hot piece of metal setting every nerve around the area on fire. Then she felt nothing before she hit the ground.

She realized her body had probably been going into shock, but there was nothing she could have done about it. Her strength abandoned her, fleeing somewhere she couldn't chase it as a sticky but warm sensation slowly permeated her back. All she could do was look into the cold and unforgiving eyes of her former superior who had pulled the trigger. It had hurt worse than the bullet to see that gaze being cast upon her, so she closed her eyes to hide from it and ended up here.

There was only one source of light in the abysmal darkness, and what a radiant light it was. It exuded a soft and warm glow that allured her with its beauty, flowing like a river of sinuous neon-green threads that weaved themselves together and connected seamlessly. Loose strands unraveled themselves and floated upwards, to someplace beyond the darkness, only for more to come down and join with it again. There was no beginning and no end, only an eternal cycle that fluctuated between the two.

Crimson could only watch it from a distance. Even if she could move, she was stained with too much blood. She could never join despite the comfort it seemed to promise her, instead taunting her eternally with its radiance. Was this her Hell?

"Of course it is," said a gruff voice, followed by heavy footsteps that seemed to echo. In her view stepped Don Corneo, dressed as she had last seen the lecher before he had been torn to shreds by his own monstrosity. "Where else did you think you were going to go?"

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

"How many girls died in my dungeon or to my pet while screaming for someone to help them while you just listened?" He pulled out his cigar and tapped it, embers drifting down past where his feet stood and continuing until the weak light was swallowed by the darkness. "And you just let it happen because you were following orders. Is that right?"

Crimson didn't want to listen to this. She didn't need a reminder of how many girls desperate enough to go to work at the Honey Bee Inn, hoping for a chance to earn enough to get out of the slums, ended up having to audition for him. The names of the ones that never returned were in the dossier she had to compile as part of the job, along with their last words and pleas heard through the surveillance devices and hidden microphones.

The Don's figure melted into Hojo's, slouched over with an unimpressed frown on his face as he stared down at her. "You've no qualms about doing what is needed to gain what you want. It's in your job description—all for the company's interests. How does that differ from what I have done? Did my work not benefit Shinra as well?"

With every ounce of willpower she had, Crimson desperately tried to make her hands cover her ears and block out his words. But her body refused to move. She was forced to listen to it all.

"It was easy to torture me for information, even if you claimed to not enjoy it," he continued. "You didn't stop, even when my voice came out ragged and my body was broken. In your Sense-induced state, you comprehended everything that was happening to me and you continued until there was nothing left to gain. And this time you weren't just following orders, so that's not an excuse you can hide behind either. Such actions seem counterproductive for someone who claims that they aren't a monster…."

 _Context matters,_ she told herself. She did it because she had to. She did it because she was the only one who could. _I'm not a monster like you! I'm not! I'm not!_

A smirk crossed the madman's face, satisfaction present. It was as if he could hear her thoughts, hear her doubts, and hear her drowning in them. He turned and walked off into the darkness, the tenebrous void swallowing him whole.

For a moment, Crimson felt relief that there were no more voices. No more reminders. Then a final visitor emerged from the shadows, her former superior clad in his prim and proper suit.

Tseng didn't say a word as he kneeled down in front of her, a gun occupying his dominant hand. He didn't need to. His presence alone expressed a significance that words could never encapsulate, compounded as he pressed the barrel of the gun to her temple while staring at her with those same eyes he had the first time he shot her.

She wanted to close her eyes again to escape them, but she couldn't. Not this time. She was forced to stare into them, burning the cold gaze into her memories eternally as he pulled the trigger….

 **[-oOo-]**

Aerith nearly fell asleep as she sat by Crimson's bedside and felt it add to the overwhelming guilt she was already buried under. It was near the end of her shift to watch after the woman who had helped save her and tried to help Zack. She couldn't go to sleep and rest easy while the woman still hadn't woken. The least she could do was remain vigilant.

In all honesty, the time they spent getting to Mount Corel was a blur for Aerith. She couldn't spare attention to anything else but keeping Crimson alive until they got her into the Infirmary. Even then, she still owed it to the woman to see that she woke up after all the help the former Turk had given her.

Her mission to deal with Jenova was vital to both the Planet and everyone on it. She couldn't give up partway, but she wouldn't have made it this far without the rest of the party. Yet… what if the next time it cost one of them their lives?

That was when Crimson jerked awake abruptly and let out a cry. Her eyelids screwed themselves shut and forced out tears from pain of some kind, leaving her head to twist around futilely. She tried to bring her arms up only to find they were locked in place by restraints, and tensed in an attempt muster all the strength she could to pull herself free.

Aerith placed one hand over Crimson's eyes to shield them from the light and gently touched her with the other. "You're okay now. You're safe."

The familiar voice seemed to have done the trick. Crimson calmed down. Her body relaxed, allowing her head to shift slightly towards the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor.

"Can you understand me?" Aerith asked. She nodded. "I'm going to move my hand now slowly, so try not to freak-out again. Okay?"

Another nod gave the signal. Aerith slowly lifted her hand from Crimson's eyes, giving them time to come into focus. Only when she could look at the florescent lights above without reacting like they were merciless rays trying to smite her eyes did the healer breathe somewhat easier.

 _"Wah—"_ Crimson's voice came out as a raw and pained rasp when she struggled to speak, dying before she could finish a word. Aerith held a cup and straw up to Crimson's lips so that she could slake her thirst. She pulled her head back to free the straw from her mouth after a few sips and asked, "What happened?"

"You were shot," Aerith said. "We had to rush to get you here since your heart nearly gave out a few times on the way."

"Where are we?" Her eyes shifted to the restrains next. "And why am I tied down?"

"You were moving a lot, violently at that," Aerith explained as she undid the latches, freeing Crimson's hands from their confinement. "You almost ripped out your IV the first time, so we had to restrain you before you ended up hurting yourself worse. And we're at the Gold Saucer."

"The amusement park?" A cough nearly left her mouth at that. "Why?"

"Apparently, Kunsel knows the owner and made a call on the way here," Aerith explained. "They let us in and told us everything's complementary. The others have been staying at the Ghost Square's Inn when not doing something else."

"Okay, but what happened after…" She couldn't bring herself to finish. Instead, she took a deep breath before rephrasing the question. "Did we at least keep Hojo and Heidegger from escaping?"

Aerith pursed her lips and shook her head slightly, just enough to make her hair shift. "They both got taken away by the Turks—an Exit Materia, Kunsel thinks. They tried to get me too, but the others kept me safe."

"Damn, that was probably our best chance to get rid of them both." Crimson tried to lean forward and sit up, only to wince in pain and lay back down. "Hopefully, Hojo won't be able to talk in his current state. It'll buy us time."

"Maybe…" Aerith swallowed down the stirring unpleasantness in her stomach as she gathered the courage to ask another question. This one she knew the answer to deep down inside of her heart. But some part of her hoped it she was wrong. "Was it Tseng who shot you?"

The answer was exactly as she feared as Crimson looked down to where the bullet pierced her and nodded. "It was."


	29. Chapter 29

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken: Perhaps down the road. But not now.**

 **Enjoy!**

Crimson shifted her body and felt a muted pain where the bullet had passed through her. It was a distraction at the very least, but she hoped that it wouldn't be a factor for too long. They couldn't linger here when there was no telling how long until Shinra managed to get Hojo back on his feet and learn where they were going ahead of time. It would be too much to hope he didn't wake up at all from what she put him through.

That being said, she had to admit that it was fortunate that Kunsel knew the owner and managed to get her inside. The Gold Saucer attracted several people, many of them wealthy. They'd have medical facilities and supplies meant to handle any sort of treatment or surgery needed in the event of an accident. Still, she was starting to wonder just how big of an information web the man had woven over the last few years.

It was then she noticed that Aerith was clenching the fabric of her dress on her lap, tension lining every muscle in her body. It seemed she wasn't taking the news of who her shooter was well. The former Turk pushed past the unpleasant feeling that came from her injury to ask, "How did you know it was him?"

Aerith forced herself to relax, moving her hands up to her stomach and taking a deep breath. "The rest of the Turks appeared after you were shot, and Red XIII apparently met him several years ago and memorized his scent. I just didn't want to believe he would be the one to do it."

"I don't see why," Crimson said. "We're enemies of the company. He's basically the troubleshooter. We made trouble, so he shot me to try and fix it. I probably won't be so lucky next time."

"It just feels like he betrayed me a second time by hurting one of my friends to get to me." The brunette rose out of her chair and leaned forward on the bed. "Doesn't it feel the same way to you? You did work with him for a long time, right?"

Crimson opened her mouth to answer, only for nothing to come out. She… she couldn't find the right words. Seeing her conflicted expression, Aerith took her seat again and crossed her legs.

"I've known him for the majority of my life," she said. "He was the man in the suit, a man who worked for the people who put my birth-mother and I through horrible tests until they eventually killed her when we escaped. But I at least felt safe around him growing up."

"You did?" Crimson asked, failing to hide the incredulous tone in her voice. "Even knowing who he worked for?"

"Not at first. When I was a child and lived with Elmyra, I hated whenever he came over to try and convince me to return. He made promises, made it sound like I would be doing the world itself a service. The way he says it, you'd believe it if you never knew what really went on inside."

Crimson silently agreed with a slight nod of her head. Being a consummate liar in their line of work was a necessity. Considering that Jenova was sitting in the very same lab that Hojo intended to use to crossbreed her with Red XIII, it was safe to say that they weren't doing anyone but themselves a service….

Yet, she knew all that and still helped them while believing that the ends justified the means. The world was better off with the power and military might Shinra provided. At least, that was how it seemed despite the fact that her job was to clean up the company's messes and do their dirty work.

"It was only after one night in particular that I started feeling differently," Aerith continued. "Mother and I went to the Wall Market to shop. It was late and crowded, and I got separated from her. Some drunkards were harassing me when Tseng suddenly popped up and scared them off."

"Of course he'd stop them from harming you," Crimson said. "You are a priority target. They'd have someone watching you nearly every time you stepped foot out in public. Even now, you're the only one of us they won't kill on sight."

"That's true," she admitted. "Even back then, I knew that on some level it was just his job. But what really got to me was what he did next. He led me back to where she was looking frantically for me, almost on the verge of tears. I rushed over and hugged her, but when I looked back he was gone. He could have taken me then, but he didn't."

"It certainly would have been the best time, from a purely professional viewpoint," Crimson noted. "She would have never been the wiser and the company could have claimed plausible deniability and pinned it on her as being neglectful."

"But he didn't do that," Aerith said. "All these years, there was really nothing stopping him from simply barging into our home and taking me by force. Mother would have fought for me to escape, just like my birth-parents did. But there was nothing stopping them from killing her just like them if she did and leaving me an orphan. Instead, he just simply kept an eye on us and occasionally asked me to return."

The more Crimson thought about it, the more she could see Aerith's point. Heidegger definitely would have done that, given his solution to dealing with a problem was usually bullets and force. Hojo would have been all-too eager to get his hands on her again after she escaped as well. By all accounts, the fact that Tseng actively dragged his feet until the bombing meant that he had been taking advantage of the President's trust in his assessment and role to put it off as long as he could.

Aerith sighed and looked towards the ceiling lights. "After that I started to see him in a sort of different light. I considered him a sort of guardian-figure, almost like the father I never knew back then. I didn't enjoy having him or the other Turks looking over my shoulders, but I didn't think they'd simply make me disappear. So when he ordered me kidnapped again after we learned about the plate…."

"You felt betrayed," Crimson finished. "After all that time, he finally gave the order for them to bring you in."

"When I woke up in Hojo's Lab, I couldn't believe he'd done it." A staggering breath left her mouth as she recalled it. "He returned me to the man directly responsible for my birth-parent's death. He took me from Elmyra with not even a word afterwards and left me there. After every good thing he'd done for me, I couldn't help but feel betrayed on a level that I hadn't been before—he took the safety I felt with him and tore it to shreds for the sake of his job."

How many hours did she spend there before Crimson and the others arrived, alone with those thoughts of being betrayed by a man she came to feel safe around? Crimson almost wanted to tell her that maybe it was his way of protecting her, and that the lab was safer than being in the slums when the plate came falling down. But she realized that was justifying the fact that he had brought her to her own personal Hell after sending the others to commit mass-murder on a grand scale.

He brought Aerith in because it was his job. He shot Crimson because it was his job. Whatever bonds they had before, all of it meant nothing before his duty now. In the end, everything he did was for the company. Even if he held some compassion, he would not waver when the order was given.

It had hurt fighting Rude and Reno, but that she could at least rationalize. It wasn't personal to them—she wanted to save lives and they were doing their jobs out of professionalism, even if that entailed mass-murder. But when she tried to do the same when it came to him being the one to come the closest to killing her, it failed.

He'd done so much for her, and then he tried to take everything away. What was the point in helping her leave her old life behind if he was just going to be the one to end it? Under that light, sitting on a bed after nearly bleeding out, she knew exactly what Aerith felt back when she was captured.

"… I did feel betrayed," Crimson hesitantly admitted. "He was aiming for my head the entire time, a guaranteed kill-shot if I hadn't been warned and turned. I saw how cold his eyes were when he pulled the trigger. I knew he would show those eyes to a target before, but never once did I think he would show them to me."

The admission only served to remind her of the near-death nightmare she had been in. It reflected her fears perfectly, the belief that she was a monster who belonged in the darkness and deserved to have Tseng putting the cold barrel of the gun against her head. It made her feel… a way she really didn't want to feel right now.

She scanned the room again, searching for anything she could use to change the topic. That way the thoughts of betrayal and the nightmare wouldn't trouble her further. She stopped when her eyes came across a new staff with a materia inside of it. "Where'd you get those?"

Aerith snapped out of her own reflection and looked over her shoulder to the Wizard Staff and Transform Materia. "Cloud found them while he was out, though he didn't mention where besides near the train tracks. He didn't want to sit still inside of the Gold Saucer while you were unconscious. Two of the others usually go with him to make sure he's safe."

"I should talk to him…" Her eyes then drifted to her Rekka, sitting off to the side. Someone must've grabbed it while she was unconscious. She had been fond of it before, seeing it as a tool she used in service to the company and man who she considered her superior. The feeling was not as pronounced given both had tried to kill her.

Cloud had picked up a new sword, trying to distance himself from Zack and find who he was. It got broken, but they could find him a new one in time. Maybe it was time she did the same if she truly wanted to distance herself from the pain of her past?

She was snapped out of her musings when Aerith reached into her pocket and pulled out her PHS. "Before you call them, I need to tell you something. Something I learned from Hojo and I need you to keep it a secret."

The words caught her mid-dial and Aerith stayed her fingers.

"It's about Jenova and why you seem able to heal Cloud when his headaches set in," Crimson continued. The thought of keeping it to herself had crossed her mind, but Aerith's mission from the start was to deal with Jenova and it would be stupid not to consult her about it. "Did the others tell you what I said about Hojo having made Sephiroth clones?"

She gave a brief, uncomfortable nod at the thought. "They did, but if he had and they were as strong as the original, I don't see why he kept it a secret or why Shinra hasn't used them to come after us."

"What I meant by that was that he implanted them with Jenova cells the same way he did Sephiroth. The survivors from Nibelheim, Zack, and Cloud—all of them have its cells inside of them. From what I learned, the other survivors had their minds overtaken by the cells while Zack was seemingly immune because of either his training or the SOLDIER enhancements."

"But Cloud wasn't… I can see how that will be a problem." Aerith mused as she looked down at her slender hands. "The reactions only happen when his memories come into conflict with Zack's or when Sephiroth showed up during our escape from Shinra. Then that means the cells have partially obscured or suppressed them, and it's because of my connection to the Planet that my healing can mitigate its influence."

"Hojo had a theory that those with the cells would be drawn to one another and influenced by them, drawn to the strongest concentration of them in the form of a reunion," Crimson added. "If that's the case, I'm working on the assumption that by destroying Jenova and killing Sephiroth we'll be able to stop their influence from corrupting him."

"Which is what the Planet wants me to do," Aerith said. "I'll see my mission through to the end, if that's what you were worried about."

"Not alone is what I'm saying," Crimson said. "After we find a way to restore his memories, I'm going to help you in getting rid of every other trace of Jenova to ensure he doesn't become a monster because of them. He's already troubled enough because of what he knows about Zack and his memories, so if he knew this…."

"It would only hurt him more and that's why you want to keep it a secret," Aerith finished for her.

Crimson nodded. "Kunsel already knows because he was with me and I've told him to keep quiet on it, though I'm hoping he'll listen this time and not go behind my back. The little thief is a tagalong and Red XIII only wants to go home, so they won't be around that long. Cloud and Lockhart want revenge against Sephiroth and his memories restored, which means they'll stay until then, but they should be allowed to walk away afterwards so they can find a life that doesn't involve fighting for their lives—not when they've already lost their home and neighbors."

"Okay, I understand that. But there's no telling how long it will take or how dangerous it will be," Aerith warned. "If you come with me, there's a chance you could very well never see the person you're doing this for again. Speaking from experience when it comes to my mother, I can tell you it isn't easy. Is that really okay with you?"

She hesitated for just a moment at the thought. Then the memories from that place within the darkness came to her mind again. There was no happy ending waiting for her.

Her voice came out sad but firm in resolve. "I joined Shinra from the orphanage of my own free will and committed acts that can't be forgiven. Being happy was never on the table for me. That's why, even if it takes me the rest of my life, if I can make up for some of the things I've done then that's fine. "

"If it's redemption for your past you're searching for, then no matter how hard you try you won't find it from others," Aerith said without malice, keeping her voice gentle as she reached down and touched her hands. "You have to learn to forgive yourself."

"Easier said than done," Crimson pointed out as she slipped her hands free of the tender grasp. "If I do forgive myself for everything I've done in the past, I'll be saying that it was okay to be a bad person. To be a monster like Hojo said and—"

"That's not what it means to forgive yourself," Aerith cut in. "You have to accept you've done bad things, but you aren't a bad person and you'll strive to do better. People like him don't feel guilt over what they do or when they hurt others, only shame when called out on their failures. You're not like him and have already proven you're a good person. It's just a matter of finding the path to believing it yourself and walking it."

"The good doesn't outweigh the bad," she said, repeating the same thing she told Hojo. "I worked for them willingly, under a belief that they were doing what was best for everyone, despite knowing at least a majority of what was happening. In the end, all the Turks do is make things more convenient for the company, not because it was actually better in the long run. I only realized that it was a tainted belief when it was thrown in my face and came down to personally having to either shatter that belief or call in Zack and Cloud's location. Since then I've been trying to do the right thing by helping Cloud, but now I have to wonder if the path I'm on won't be the same—me doing horrible things for what I believe to be the right reason."

"That's not something I can't tell you how to…"Aerith trailed off and looked down at her pocket for an elongated moment. Then she closed her eyes and nodded. "I see. If you're sure, I'll pass it along…."

Crimson was somewhat puzzled by the sudden shift in the conversation until Aerith reached into her pocket. From it she pulled out a materia and held it in front of the convalescing woman. It was a Summoning Materia.

"The Elder Justiciar that wields the power of Lightning, Ramuh," Aerith said. "He says that constantly bemoaning if you're on the right path does nothing, you have to march forward. If your resolve is strong then he'll loan you his strength in walking the path you seek. But if you waver or stray the path, if you become that which you fear so much, then he'll pass judgment on you. Will you accept it knowing that?"

Crimson stared that the red sphere, the words spoken by proxy resonating. Then she extended her hand in acceptance. The moment the materia landed in her palm she felt a small shock from it.

"And he's not the only one," Aerith continued. "Believe me when I say that I wouldn't let you lead us the majority of the time if I doubted that you were doing the right thing. None of us would. If it seems like you're going too far, we'll speak up."

"…Thank you, Aerith." Crimson gave her a fragile smile in gratitude. "I needed to talk to someone about it, but I don't think I could have with the others."

"That's what friends are for. I hope one day you'll consider them to be the same."Aerith returned the smile with one of her own while dialing on her phone once more. "Now, let's tell the others that you've woken up and plan our next move."


	30. Chapter 30

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken: Wait and see is right.**

 **Enjoy!**

Cloud panted as he stood with his blade at the ready once more, exhaling with hot and heavy breaths that knocked loose the beads of sweat that dotted his brow and left the drops trailing down his skin in streamlets. Opposing him was the former Second-Class SOLDIER several yards away, a bright glare coming from the sword wreathed in flames through a combination of an Elemental and Fire Materia. The distance between them could be swallowed up in two seconds at best once the pause in the exchange came to an end.

The clarity that came from their sparing session was welcomed in contrast to the bitter uselessness he felt since Costa del Sol. The feeling of her body covered in blood in his arms and the memories of her falling to the ground both lingered freshly in his thoughts if he didn't have something to occupy his mind. Things could have been worse, and would have been if not for Red XIII's warning and her response.

But Cloud couldn't shake the feeling that he should have been better, and he couldn't remain in the same place that she was while haunted by that feeling. He couldn't sit and watch the evidence of his failure in her pallor as it slowly regained its fair tone. He needed a distraction other than festivities within the confines of the Gold Saucer, away from the people who looked so joyous and ignorant of how close someone he cared about came to losing their life.

So he took to exploring the Mountain Path and tracks, hunting down whatever monster he could for the visceral distraction and experience that combat provided. He avoided the Mako Reactor. It looked abandoned, but he didn't want to risk Shinra becoming aware of where they were again and sending someone else to finish the job they started while she was recovering.

Others came with him, but they didn't talk much. He had nothing he wanted to say, and they had nothing they could say to him on the subject. He just continued his trek and slew monsters wholesale until Kunsel provided him with an actual challenge for once.

A bestial roar in the distance made it clear that Red XIII and Yuffie were still occupying themselves with the monsters that became curious to the sound of steel sliding against steel prior. It served as the beacon to start again. Cloud raised the Buster Sword and crossed the distance in the span of heartbeats to bring it down in an overhead cleaving motion.

The former Second-Class escaped the slash with an angled step and pivoted, bringing the rapier around towards his neck.

Cloud reared his head back so the hot steel missed, but the wild flowing fire-mane that followed in the blade's wake flared in his eyes. He braced the Buster Sword and set the flat of the blade to guard his front, sparing him from being caught by the follow-up slash while his eyesight rapidly recovered. Then he pushed forward to open enough space to swing again and repaid him with a flurry of slashes.

Kunsel avoided what he could and parried what he couldn't, but he didn't try to block outright against the larger sword.

Cloud pressed on that. Strength and speed were his advantages and he had to stick with them. The worst thing he could do was give him too much space. That's when the spells came out, shaped flames battering against his skin and searing his flesh if he was too slow to block or dodge.

After it was clear he wouldn't get away easily, Kunsel swung his blade along the ground and unleashed a Fire 2 spell point-blank at their feet. The sudden flare of heat and debris forced them apart, with neither escaping unharmed. But it bought him the breathing room he so desperately needed.

 _Not this time_ , Cloud triggered the Earth Materia in the slot and slammed the Buster Sword down. The ground rippled and upturned from the epicenter, costing Kunsel his footing and sending him falling backwards. Cloud chambered the Buster Sword and leapt towards him as he entered into a back-roll, putting all of his strength into the next blow.

Kunsel extended his bangle-equipped arm and used the Gravity Materia on it. A Demi 2 spell slammed the aerial swordsman from above and abruptly brought him to his hands and knees. The former Second-Class SOLDIER was on his feet and had his sword at Cloud's throat the moment the spell wore off.

"You have the technique of how to use a sword, but not the experience," Kunsel said as he perched the flat of his blade against his shoulder. He followed with a Cure spell from the second materia on his bangle to deal with the injuries and minor burns. "You're stronger than I am, but rushing in and trying to press that will only get you so far against someone skilled or flexible with materia."

"Again," Cloud demanded as he stood up and readied the sword once more. "I'm not do—"

"You've got a call!" Yuffie interrupted, suddenly popping up Red XIII in tow. The latter had a new Diamond Pin on his head, while the former had a PHS in her hand that looked similar to the one Cloud had seen belonging to the former Second-Class.

Kunsel was apparently of the same mind, because he looked at it and then patted his pockets down to feel they were empty. Yuffie only smiled a little smugly when he snatched it back and then walked past Red XIII towards the Gold Saucer with a skip in her step. Kunsel held the phone up to his ear for a few moments and then placed it back into his pocket. "Crimson's awake."

Cloud slung the heavy blade onto his back, the metallic ring of the magnet signaling it being locked into place. "Was there any long term damage?"

"I'll go and talk to the doctor overseeing her and ask them." He walked forward until he was next to Cloud and added. "You'd do better in a fight if your head wasn't weighed down by the need to escape from blaming yourself. Accept what happened and then push on, Cloud."

Cloud didn't say anything to that as Kunsel walked on, leaving him alone with his thoughts….

 **[-oOo-]**

The sound of her PHS buzzing briefly drew Tifa attention away from the company she was keeping. The Gold Saucer catered to a large clientele base and so they had a large variety of drinks available for her to sample at the bar. She set down the half-empty glass, answered to get an update on the situation from Aerith, and then declined to go check up on her on two fronts.

The first reason was that she knew from personal experience that the last thing she would want was for someone who she could barely tolerate seeing her when she was at her weakest and pitying her. The second was that it reminded her too much of the time she had to be carried all the way to Midgar on Zagan's back while he struggled to keep her alive, much like they had done to reach the Gold Saucer. That was a memory she never liked to think of because it reminded her of when she was so weak she couldn't even take care of herself, something she trained to ensure would never happen again.

Tifa turned her attention back to Barret as he gestured for the bartender to pour him another drink and leave the bottle behind. It was by chance she had run across him in the Gold Saucer an hour ago, smelling of chocobos and gunpowder, fiddling with a necklace he didn't have before and nursing several bruises and hastily patched wounds. Whatever it was that happened to him seemed like it killed off a part of him and to fill the void he was spending every Gil he had on whatever would get him drunk the fastest.

"So what we're you talkin' about again?" he asked as the bartender filled the glass once more and set the bottle down. "You were at the part where you got the guy from Shinra."

"Hojo said the original incarnation of AVALANCHE was no better than Shinra when we finally managed to get answers out of him. They killed innocent people just to try and stop them from harming the Planet. It's been bugging me since then, and since you we're likely to know best…."

"And you believed the crap that came outta his mouth?" Surprisingly, there was no offense in his tone at the accusation. A contrast to the rough and assertive tone she had come to expect from such a question.

"I wouldn't believe him based on his own words, not after everything he's done. But we had someone who could tell whether he was lying or not with a materia. She confirmed that they were the ones responsible for Sector 6 being destroyed just to try and get to Shinra."

"Is that right?" He knocked down the entire glass and sighed, staring at the ice in it. "To be honest, I don't know much. I just ran into someone who told me about how they were goin' against Shinra. If it's true then I can't say I wouldn't have done the same and left it out. Hell, at this the point I'll be damned if I know anymore what's right or wrong."

"That's not like you," Tifa pointed out. "You always sounded so sure of what you were doing before."

"If this was before what happened in Sector 7, I'd say that damn near anything was worth it to take them down for the Planet. But livin' in Cosmo Canyon with Marlene before trackin' down rumors until I came here and…." He trailed off, looking down to his gun-arm. "It gave me some time to think, and now I'd be lyin' if I didn't say that most of it wasn't just out of revenge for what happened in Corel."

"You mean the shantytown on the way up the mountain?"

"Those are the ones who are left after Shinra rolled in and shot up the place." He let that last bit of information linger as he poured another glassful of the strong alcohol. "The real Corel is buried under this place, housin' scum and corpses left forgotten by the world after the Mako Reactor was supposedly sabotaged. Shinra used that as an excuse to try and kill everyone they could while drivin' those that made it away."

"Just like my home, huh…." She could still remember the glow and heat of the fires from that time, cinder and fume filling the air. The pain of Sephiroth's sword and the hatred she felt for everything that led to her home and family dying still smoldered within her.

"I told myself that Marlene deserved a world she can live in that's not a wasteland when I decided to form AVALANCHE and go to Midgar," he continued. "But I just wanted those bastards to pay for what they did. And in the end, what did we accomplish in the end?"

The answer wasn't one that needed to be said when silence did the trick. In the end, everyone blamed AVALANCHE for the plate falling and drove them out. The news of the refugees joining the people who dropped the plate in the first place had also been a bitter pill to swallow when Tifa learned about it.

"How are the others taking it?" she asked. "Marlene? Biggs? Wedge? Jessie?"

"Marlene is fine, but the other three…." Barret's tone dropped, laced with bitterness. "Biggs' sister hates him because she lost some friends there and blamed him too. Wedge lost his brother during the fall. And Jessie… sometimes she just stares down at her hands for minutes on end without a word. Planet's no closer to being saved either, so I can't tell them that it was worth it in the end. Some leader I am."

There wasn't much she could say to him after that. He wasn't in the mood to hear her say otherwise, and she'd be a hypocrite if she said that her actions weren't just as driven by revenge against the people who had burned down her home as his were. If she had to be honest, that was as good as any reason to fight against them and revenge wasn't an inherently bad thing—not against Shinra.

But their methods had been. Wantonly bombing the reactors had been no different than something that Shinra would do and the collateral damage had been enough to make people see AVANLANCE as extremists. That was why they were quick to blame them when Shinra said they destroyed the pillar, because it became plausible in their eyes.

Now the next time she fought against their military it was very likely she'd be fighting her neighbors, who lost their homes and families partly because of the actions she and the others had taken.

That was a thought she'd rather try drinking away herself. "Bartender, another round."

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson stared at the Summoning Materia in the palm of her hands while lying on the bed in the Infirmary, fighting off the growing weariness she felt. She was alone now that Aerith had gone off with her blessing to get some well-deserved rest. The others had given her courtesy visits as well, except for Lockhart and Cloud.

She was actually grateful they didn't since she wouldn't likely be able to stomach feeling pity from them. Aerith was sympathetic and blamed herself somewhat, but they had more common ground after their last discussion. Red XIII was a warrior and didn't show pity outwardly, likely because he also had a high sense of pride. Kunsel knew the risks and understood her well enough to simply keep things on point, giving her information from the doctor on the extent of her wounds and how long she'd be sitting out of a fighting role. Yuffie was also surprisingly mature during her visit… at least until she saw Ramuh's Summoning Materia.

It was different with Lockhart, who was someone she didn't want to see in her current state out of a sense of pride. They weren't enemies by any stretch at this point, Crimson even had a begrudging respect for the woman's strength and how she didn't back down even in the face of a threat. But they weren't friends and, as much as her rage against Shinra was justified, Crimson wouldn't likely forgive her for turning Cloud into a terrorist when she'd spent a good deal of her life dealing with extremists on both ends.

With Cloud… it just embarrassed her to be seen so weak and helpless, needing to be carried in his arms from what Kunsel told her. She promised him as in the church that she would be with him every single step of the way in getting his memories back. Things only got harder along the way, and she admitted to him that she hadn't expected it to do so, but she had no regrets.

Then Tseng shot her and shattered it all like glass, the nightmare that followed leaving her with doubts that she couldn't shake without the assurance of Aerith and a promise from a summoning to be put to death if she became a monster. If he'd seen her when she woke in a panic, it would have been _unbearable_ to look him in the eyes.

She sighed at the thought when the sound of the door opening reached her ears.

Cloud's voice followed. "Crimson, are you awake?"

"I'm awake." She sat up in the bed and put the materia away. "At least for a little while longer."

He shut the door, placed the Buster Sword against the wall gently, and took a seat in the chair next to the bed, where Aerith had been. "And how are you feeling?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I've been better, but I'm alive. I won't be able to fight for a bit directly, but we'll leave the Gold Saucer as soon as we can and get back to our quest. Cosmo Canyon isn't that far and after we drop off Red XIII we'll go to the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim."

"I've been thinking about what happened at Costa del Sol a lot." He kept his eyes down, not daring to meet hers. "You shouldn't have been hurt like that in the first place. I should have been able to do something."

"You did your best," she said, keeping her tone at a gentle level. "I should have guessed the Turks would be called in, but I didn't and I paid the price. Even so, everyone made it out alive and we got the information we needed."

"If you or the others die helping me then the information won't be worth it," he said, looking over his shoulder to the blade perched against the wall. "I've lost too many people as it is to Sephiroth and Shinra, even if I can't trust my own memories. So when I thought you had died, I… I didn't take it well."

He took a deep breath before he continued. "I don't want to go through that again. But, even if I told you to stay here or if I went off ahead to fight Sephiroth alone, you and Tifa would be right behind me. So I'll do better from this point on and protect you all."

"…Okay then," Crimson told him. It wasn't in her to argue against needing protection given her current condition and mindset. "Just the same, I… we won't be happy if you got hurt defending us either. I'll do my best to avoid putting us in a spot like that again, but don't be reckless in trying to shield us from everything—"

She abruptly covered her mouth as a yawn slipped out. The weariness she felt had become more pronounced. Crimson couldn't hide it well as she continued on, notable pauses in-between her words. "We're not… helpless…Cloud."

"You need your rest," he said. "Go back to sleep. I'll stay here and keep watch this time."

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Crimson's head lowered itself onto the pillow, its seductive embrace beckoning her into slumber. "I'm okay now."

"It's not fair to the others if I don't when they've done their part." He draped the bed sheet over her carefully despite her offer for him to leave. "Just rest easy, okay?"

Crimson didn't protest any further as she drifted off to sleep. This time the nightmare was nowhere to be found….


	31. Chapter 31

**Another chapter is here!**

 **XxXTwilight-SinXxX: You will see it more.**

 **LirialRaito: Thank you.**

 **Kazeshuriken: You will.**

 **Enjoy!**

Heidegger nursed a bruised ego as he stood at the window of a stand-alone room on Floor 60 in Shinra HQ. The renovations were done, and the majority of the staff that had been slaughtered was now replaced, but their military forces were still diminished. And would be for the foreseeable future, judging by the gutter-trash he had to work with.

Their losses in Costa del Sol hadn't been as large as the previous two run-ins with the traitors and monsters born by Hojo's hands. But it had been significant nonetheless. The security robots were costly to replace, and the sheer number of trained soldiers killed in action meant that they had to draw from their reserves in Junon to shore up that base and go on a recruitment drive soon.

Hojo was useless, lying comatose in the Medical Center. They had no idea when or if he'd wake. If Heidegger had a choice, he'd pull the plug on life-support rather than waste the resources needed to keep him alive. They didn't need to know what his monsters were capable of when they could build another war-machine to finish the job right. He would have gotten rid of the rats already if not for the need to avoid shooting him the first time because the quack had been taken hostage.

The thought brought a scowl to his face. His Airbuster Alpha had been wrecked beyond repair by _another_ traitor. The black box had been recovered and the data didn't lie when compared to previous testing results recorded on the salvaged memory banks from Floor 49. There was another SOLDIER turned traitor, one who had to be First-Class given the extent of the damage.

That wouldn't be an issue with the next iteration of the Airbuster, refined further and made to compensate with his and Scarlet's efforts. At least it wouldn't if Shinra's entitled little shit hadn't denied them the resources to do so once again! He even had the audacity to lecture Heidegger over the battle, citing that he had lost his temper and would have killed the priority targets at the last moment according to the report from the Turks.

 _He took the words of those incompetent shadow-lurkers over me!_ Heidegger's anger boiled over and he gripped the frame of the window hard. Had he the strength, he would have torn it out and tossed it aside. Then, through the pane of the window, he saw one of the trainees fall behind the others on his hands and knees.

Heidegger exited the room and stomped his way towards the lanky man who had fallen. "Get up!"

"W-We need a break," he whined. "We've been running non-stop for an hour now."

 _Annoying._ It annoyed him to the point he had to gnash his teeth. Hojo and his monsters, the Turks and Shinra's brat, they were the source of all of the problems the once proud company faced. The military force he had worked so hard to build up was a remnant of what it once was.

It was a pitiful sight, rotting away like it caught some wasting illness. There was nothing more sickening to stomach than needing gutter-trash like this to fill up a force capable of waging a war. The reminder of having to figuratively scrape the bottom of the barrel, just to maintain appearances, finally pushed Heidegger to lose his temper.

"Here's your break!" He swung his stout fist at the sniveling waste. The blow to his face knocked the man soundly between the training dummies and into the center of the room. The man remained there, unmoving but breathing, with his head drooping to the side and blood dripping onto the cold metal exterior.

"Another twelve laps!" Heidegger shouted to the rest, merciless fury in his eyes. "Anyone else complains about wanting a break joins him."

They were doing as told when the elevator pinged and Reeve emerged from it, a tablet in hand. He took a step towards Heidegger before he saw the downed man. Heidegger scoffed as the bleeding heart set the tablet down on the console and ran over to check his pulse, whatever his original reason for coming forgotten. Wasting his time on trash pulled from the gutter, it was a miracle he'd survived at all to this point.

The Head of the Public Safety grabbed the tablet himself as Reeve helped the barely lucid man get to the elevator, likely taking him to the Medical Center….

 **[-oOo-]**

Cloud did his best not to rustle while Crimson slept next to him. Her head was perched on his shoulder while they were in the air-conditioned cockpit of the Buggy that Kunsel had borrowed. It had been a long trip since they left the Gold Saucer, with a brief detour on Kunsel and Aerith's request to stop where Gongaga had once stood, and they were now approaching Cosmo Canyon.

Kunsel and Crimson both had been quieter than normal since Gongaga, the former having disappeared then returned with the hilt of a broken sword. He spent a few moments eyeing the Buster Sword afterwards and then asked for Crimson to come with him to talk somewhere in private. Whatever happened between them left a sort of tension-filled undercurrent in the air around them, but neither would give him an answer when he asked.

Aerith, on the other hand, needed Cloud's help along with Tifa and Barret to remove some debris from around the Mako Reactor. She said she could feel a presence around the ruined reactor and the net result of that was a new Summoning Materia, Titan. Yuffie then pointed to a set of footprints that had to be a day or so old, high-heels by her reckoning, leaving them to wonder who visited such a remote place and why before they left.

Cloud's efforts to remain stationary went to waste as the Buggy violently jostled. Then it went into an abrupt spin, the wheels skidding along the craggy and cracked ground. The violent motion not only woke Crimson, her face distorting in pain for a moment while she let out a strained breath, but threw Red XIII, who was resting on the floor and not buckled in, into the metal wall of the interior with a grunt.

"Wh-what happened?" Yuffie asked as the Buggy shook beneath them again. "Is it an earthquake?"

" _No_ ," Red XIII snarled and then winced. "This feels like a Golem's doing. Occasionally they emerge from the ground, having been buried there at some point in the past. When they find a target, they approach and slam their fists into the ground hard enough to make it shake. It must be close by."

"The Buggy won't turn back on either," Kunsel said as he unbuckled himself. "The shaking must've dislodged something." He popped the manual hatch and then opened the cockpit.

The sound of gunfire and explosions barely reached their ears before a herculean crash coincided with the ground shaking again. A jeep tumbled into view from behind a sheer cliff and two people fell onto the ground, one male and the other female. The jeep itself kept tumbling until it crashed into a raised wedge in the ground with a metallic crunch.

Barret rose from his seat in alarm at the sight. "That's Jessie and Biggs!"

"It is?" Tifa asked as he jumped over the side of the Buggy and started running forward. The heavy footsteps of the advancing Golem sounded out, with the metal carapace of the humanoid automation peeking just past the corner of the rock face. She undid her seatbelt and followed right afterwards. "Cloud, come on!"

Cloud looked over the others. Red XIII was limping, probably from the impact knocking his shoulder out of place. Crimson held the spot where she had been shot and healed, the area still sensitive to impacts and made to ache from the violent stop.

"Go," Aerith said as she grasped her Restore Materia. "Kunsel can cover us if something sneaks up on us. I can take care of them."

"Thanks." Cloud grabbed the Buster Sword, checked that both the Earth and Cover Materia were slotted into it, and then jumped out of the opened cockpit as hard as he could. He sailed through the air a good distance and outpaced the other two as the Golem raised its finger towards Jessie. The near-mastered Cover Materia shone and he found himself skidding to a stop with the thick blade raised in defense in time to stop the Finger Shot, a projectile the size of a cannon ball, from hitting her.

Jessie looked up from the ground, the red bandana on her forehead stained a blotch darker and streamlets of blood curving down her brown eyes. The sight of heavy sword and blond-hair were apparently recognizable. "C-Cloud…?"

He spared her and Biggs, who was slowly sitting up and nursing his forearm, a glance and nod as he held the sword up, ready to block again if needed. "It's me."

Ice and cold bloomed in an abrupt and frosty plume, washing against his skin as it billowed outward. The arctic mist parted to reveal Shiva had engulfed the Golem in a dense mass of ice before it advanced towards them further. Tifa came to a stop next them, her breathing labored as she retracted the summoning and crouched down to look at Biggs' arm. "How bad is it?"

He raised his hand showing that the bone had pierced through the surface and then covered it again. "I'll live. Where'd you two come from?"

The whirring of the ancient gears drowned out any answer she could give. Cracks were forming in the ice as the Golem struggled to free itself. Tifa helped him to his feet and they headed further back, Cloud following after sheathing his sword to carry Jessie.

It broke free of the ice, chunks scattering and pelting the ground. However, before it could take another step, a tanned bolt of light struck the ground in front of it. From the earth was born a grey-haired giant, toned in its hue and covered in a carpet of dirt. Titan **roared** upon emerging, loud enough to make the air itself quake, and brought its massive, burly fist around.

The Golem went sailing back with a blow that resounded throughout the area until the mass of ancient metal crashed into the hard-packed earth, tumbling as bits and pieces broke off of its body until it came to a sliding stop. Gears strained audibly beneath the ravaged metal as the world seemed to quake for it and a mountain of a shadow eclipsed the sun. It raised its head to see a massive section of earth was being uprooted. Titan roared again as it finished flipping the shelf of earth into the Golem, burying the totaled automaton once and for all.

"That's how it's done," Barret said as he approached Cloud, Tifa, and the two they had in their grasp. The summoning's body slowly dissipated into golden motes until the materia he held dimmed. He put it away and then turned to the other two. "You two, okay?"

Biggs nodded. "Yeah, we will be once we get back."

They headed back towards the Buggy and along the way Cloud got the gist of what happened. They had relocated here after Sector 7 was destroyed and the two of them occasionally handled the monsters that came too close to the town. The Golem activated when they were chasing a Griffin that had gotten too bold to live and they had tried to take care of it, only to learn the armor plating was thicker than expected.

When they arrived at the Buggy, Aerith set to work healing them. Crimson, who hadn't exactly been pleased beforehand about his association with terrorists, did her best to restrain her opinion by focusing on something else. Cloud and Kunsel, on the other hand, got out and pushed the Buggy itself towards the closest habitation in Cosmo Canyon with their mako-enhanced strength and stamina.

They arrived around the hour of dusk. With the sky above the town aglow from the eternal flame, the group as a whole ascended the stairs and saw the entrance guarded solely by a man who stood vigilant. At least until Red XIII bound up the stairs in a blur of red and came to a stop right in front of him.

"Nanaki, is… is that you?" Cloud heard the man ask as he wiped his eyes, as though to brush aside a hallucination. "You're safe."

Red XIII bobbed his head. "I have returned in one piece, if not unscathed. Where are Deneh and Grandfather?"

"She's in the altar," the guy said. "Last I checked, there's still another half-a-year before she can leave it. As for the Bugenhagen, he's in the Observatory."

"I see…." He looked down to the ground pensively for a moment before nodding to himself. "Very well. I will go see my Grandfather first then."

"Nanaki, huh?" Tifa mused as she and the others finally reached the end of the stairs. "That's a nice name. Should we call you that now?"

He turned to them with a slight crook in his mouth turned upwards. "Call me whatever you wish." He then turned back to the gate guardian. "These are my companions and are responsible for my safe return. Let them pass as well."

The guy did so and they entered Cosmo Canyon, a site famous for the study of Planet Life, as Nanaki bolted further up the stairs.

"DADDY!" No sooner than they were a few steps past the entrance did they hear a youthful voice yelling at the top of her lungs, drawing eyes to the source. Running from Wedge and up the sloping stairs was a young girl with brown-hair that cut short on her shoulders, adorned by a tanned tunic and shorts.

"There's my girl," Barret said as he crouched down so that Marlene could throw herself into a hug that wrapped around his neck. He stood up, supporting her with his good arm. "You didn't give the others a hard time while I was gone, did you?"

"No. I was a good girl." Hazel-eyes skimmed the group and her smile only grew brighter when her eyes fell on Tifa. "You're here too! I missed you!"

"I missed you too…" Tifa gently caressed Marlene's head and smiled in a way Cloud hadn't seen her do in a long time. "You've gotten bigger since I've seen you. I'm glad."

"Uh-huh!" She giggled a bit, sounding a lot more cheerful than Cloud remembered when they were at the bar. Barret set her down on the ground and then handed her the necklace that he had been treating delicately for some time since their departure from the Gold Saucer. She looked slightly puzzled by it. "What's this?"

"This is for you." The words that came out were cracked around the edges as he spoke. "From a… old friend of mine, who couldn't be here to see you today. He wanted you to have it, so take care of it."

"Okay, Daddy." She placed the necklace around her neck and smiled, earning a somewhat sad smile from her adoptive father in return. Then she took his hand and pulled him along. "Come on. I want to show you a new dance I learned by the fire. Tifa, you too!"

"Okay, I'm coming." Tifa said, following after them and waving towards Wedge. The other two members of AVALANCHE passed one another a look before joining them.

Kunsel was the next to go, rolling his shoulders as he walked past them and said, "I believe one of them mentioned someone who could repair the Buggy being here on the way. I'll go find them."

"I want to go look around and stuff," Yuffie added, heading in the same direction with her hands behind her head. That left Cloud, Aerith, and Crimson alone.

"I guess we should go to the Inn and make reservations for a day or two then," Crimson said. "I think they said the Shildra Inn is—"

"Cissnei, is that you?" called a soft, mature voice that Cloud and Crimson recognized. The three remaining party members looked to see a mature couple approaching. "It is, isn't it?"

"Mister and Miss Fair?" The surprise in Crimson's voice was evident, while the names immediately drew Aerith's attention. She was caught off-guard as Miss Fair approached with a smile and embraced her like a long-lost daughter. "What are you two doing here?"

"After what happened to Gongaga and your escort, the majority of us split up," Mister Fair said. "Some had family in places like Mideel and left by boat, but a few of us came here. It's a simple life, but we can see the stars at night."

"And it's nice to see you up and about," Miss Fair told Cloud. "Have you been doing well?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he said awkwardly. It was different when he helped them get away from Gongaga, before he knew what was wrong with his memories. Would he start gaining Zack's memories of them as well? Would they overlap with the memories of what he believed was his childhood?

"And who's this young lady?" Mister Fair asked, glancing at Aerith. "I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting before, unless I'm going senile."

Aerith stepped forward and extended her hand for him to shake. "My name is Aerith Gainsborough. I was your son's girlfriend. I wish I had the chance to meet you both sooner."

He gave her a once over and then a firm handshake. "So do we. The boy had a good heart, but he left home ten years ago and hardly sent word about anything. If not for a letter mentioning he had a girlfriend and the other young lady here, we wouldn't know anything."

"Come, come, let's have tea and talk," Miss Fair said. "I want to hear more about you and what you've been up to."

Crimson rubbed the back of her neck in thought. "Well, we were going to reserve rooms at the Inn, but after—"

"I'll do that now," Cloud offered as he shifted around. The sword on his back suddenly felt so much heavier in the presence of all four of them. He, despite perhaps benefitting the most from Zack, had nothing he could add by joining them. "I'm sure you have a lot you want to talk to them about."

Crimson looked back at Aerith for a moment, then the older couple, and then him. It seemed like she could see his discomfort, judging from the small nod she gave. "Okay, see you there later."

Watching them go, Cloud felt weighed down by the sword that composed someone else's legacy on his back once more. He did his best to ignore it and then ventured towards the Inn. There he could relieve that burden and rest for a moment in preparation for whatever came next.


	32. Chapter 32

**Another Chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken: Thank you.**

 **LirialRaito: Yes it is!**

 **Enjoy!**

Nanaki beckoned three of his companions into the apparatus at the wish of his Grandfather, the Elder Bugenhagan. He called upon the Swordsman, the Shamaness, and the Fighter in particular, since it was those three who had the most of learn of the basics of the Study of Planet Life—of the Lifestream and how it encompassed the Planet, how the souls were ever-flowing in a continuing stream of spirit energy that nurtured all life. Those three returned to the bonfire at the Cosmo Candle afterwards told the others.

The Shamaness, most of all, seemed to have become disheartened on speaking with the other Elders of her heritage. Nanaki understood her feelings somewhat. As she was the last of her kind, he and Deneh were the last of their tribe. Their respective duties were something that few others could truly grasp the full weight of, even if they were aware.

The Gunman looked pensive at the flame while his daughter sat upon his lap. Nanaki knew little of the man, but it was clear heavy thoughts occupied his mind. Regardless, the moment the child yawned he departed to their dwelling to lay her to sleep.

The Thief merely used the firelight to gaze upon her growing collection of Materia. Though, as she did so, there was a deeper meaning within her eyes. There was a drive within them, a determination that matched any of the others despite her youth.

The two Swordsmen were off in the shadows, with the shades-wearing one handing the blonde-haired one a new sword from the weapon shop that had been on display since even before Nanaki had been taken by Shinra. He gave it a few test swings and then commented on it before they went off, no doubt to train. The Tactician followed after them shortly afterwards.

These were his companions until now and, though their time together was short, they had all at some point demonstrated bravery in the face of such odds that it would do his tribe proud. His mother was the same, her figure coming into view as he stared into the flame and remembered how brightly her tail blazed before she went out and met her end. But it also brought to mind his father, much to his discontent, and made a furious sound bubble up in his throat.

"What's wrong, Red?" asked the Fighter, apparently overhearing it.

"When I think of all we have been through while sitting around the fire, I am reminded of Mother and her efforts," he said after a moment of hesitation. "Even though you are not of my tribe, I can feel the same pride I do as I did with her. Alas, my thoughts then turn to Father and it fills me with anger at his cowardice. Even the youngest here has faced far worse threats without retreating."

"…You really can't forgive your father?" asked an unexpected voice, his Grandfather. Floating in on his green orb, Bugenhagen approached the bonfire and Nanaki.

"Of course not!" Nanaki took offense to the mere suggestion of doing so, though he tempered his response through sheer effort. "Father was a wastrel who fled while Mother and the people of Canyon were being attacked by the Gi Tribe."

"I see…." Bugenhagen took a deep breath. "Follow me, Nanaki. There's something you should see. And, if possible, would two of your companions accompany us? It'll likely be dangerous to go alone."

"I'll go with you," offered the Fighter almost immediately. "This sounds important and you've stuck with us to this point. We may as well see it through to the bitter end together."

The Shamaness stood up as well and dusted herself off. "If it's dangerous, then I want to be on hand to help."

Despite being told it was dangerous and with nothing further to gain, they offered their assistance without hesitation. He gave a slight bow of the head at their offer. "Thank you both."

The Thief yawned and lied down after putting away her ill-gained materia, arms behind her head. "Then I'll stay here and tell the others where you've gone when they show back up."

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson watched as the two swordsmen went at one another in what Kunsel claimed was an attempt to break-in the sword called the Butterfly Edge. According to him, the shop-owner had the blade for some time and was just eager to be rid of it. There were few people who could reasonably use such heavy and large swords around here, so they were passed up and left to gather dust. Once their spar came to an end, Kunsel directed Cloud to head back to the Inn so that the two of them were alone now.

"I'm leaving the group in the morning," Kunsel told her once Cloud was out of earshot, short and to the point. "You can keep the Buggy for the time being. I can make it back on foot."

Her brows closed in at the sudden news, though she couldn't say that she was surprised. "Is this about Gongaga?"

"The fact that you lied to me about Luxiere's death is a part of it," he admitted promptly. "But I don't like being blind like this. I need information on what's happening in Shinra and in Midgar, as well as Junon. I need to reestablish contact with my informants among other things."

She crossed her arms and stared unflinchingly into his eyes. "I can't stop you. All I ask is that you don't blame Cloud for any of it. He didn't have a choice."

"No matter how it ended, someone would have died," he reasoned, inclining his head in agreement. "Heidegger gave the order, so I blame him for the circumstances of the death. But my issue is that I asked you for the truth in exchange for my help in Midgar and you intentionally lied to me."

"I knew they fought, and I knew that Cloud was alive in the end and he wasn't," she admitted. "But for all I knew after that, the missile strike could have done him in just as easily as the Buster Sword. Neither would have happened if not for him leading the attack on Gongaga just to get to us."

"But you didn't say that because you were afraid you'd lose my help if I knew the truth," he added. "Am I wrong?"

Crimson let her silence give the answer to that question. It was true. She was working with limited contacts and resources. She had no intention of things getting out of hand to the point that he would ever find out the truth to begin with.

"… He was my friend, Crimson," Kunsel continued after a soft exhale. "He was Zack's friend too. You should have told me."

"He was our enemy." She looked up the sky and saw the bright stars above, shining. You couldn't get a sight like this in places like Junon or Midgar, but Gongaga also had a beautiful night sky. "He burned down Zack's home and tried to kill us. We fought back to save who we could and ourselves. I would have told you the truth under different circumstances, but I didn't want it to color your opinion of Cloud before you had even met him."

"You've known me longer, Crimson." He stepped forward until they were only a few feet apart. "You know my thoughts on the truth and how hiding terrible secrets cause more problems down the line when they fester in the dark. You also know that I am reasonable in the wake of facts, my personal feelings aside, and I would've understood. So why did you make that judgment call?"

"I couldn't risk it," she said. "It was a chance to help him that I couldn't pass up. I wasn't going to let something that had to be done interfere with that. I'm not asking you to forgive me, but couldn't you at least accept my answer for what it is?"

She could feel his eyes boring into her from behind his shades. "Before, I might have believed it because you're altruistic in your attempt at finding your own redemption, or because he was someone Zack protected. But in light of what has happened, I'm wondering if you don't have a more… personal interest."

A look of indignation came onto her face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Then let me be blunt, Crimson. How much do you care for Cloud?" he asked. "Whether or not you've noticed, you've been a lot closer to him than someone in your former line of work should be comfortable with. If I've noticed it's only a matter of time before the others do, and I don't want it to cause problems later on—despite my current feelings, I do want you all to be successful in your endeavors."

Her eyes widened briefly as it clicked and then narrowed. "Even if what you're implying is the case, my feelings on the subject don't matter when there are bigger issues to handle at the moment," she said firmly. "You know I wouldn't do anything that would compromise our group further, especially not after that mess in Costa del Sol. I'm a professional."

"The entire reason you went against Shinra is because you placed your morals above being a professional," he said immediately, pointing out the flaw in that logic. "Reno, Rude, and Tseng are true professionals and can keep their emotions out of it, no matter how heinous the job. For you, that's a weak justification that will fail you in the long run and we both know it."

Crimson's expression softened. Her eyes reflected the way she felt, more disappointed than anything. "Have you really lost that much faith in me?"

"…Maybe I am just lashing out." His voice came out strained. "He was my friend for years, Crimson. I thought he'd been killed during the bombing, following orders, and made peace with it. Now… now, when I look at the Buster Sword I can't help but see his blood on it. It'll take time before I can come to terms with it and trust you, and even then I don't think it will be to the same extent."

"Tell Aerith you're leaving at the very least," Crimson said as he stepped past her. "She's the only one of us who has family in Midgar and they haven't talked to one another since we left. You can at least give her peace of mind by carrying a letter there for her."

He looked over his shoulder and nodded. Then he continued on, disappearing into the distant shadows and leaving Crimson to stew in her thoughts for a few minutes longer. His words lingered behind and gnawed away at her.

Even if it was just from lashing out at her, the damage had been done on both ends.

 **[-oOo-]**

"Wait, you're leaving again?" asked Biggs in the wake of the news that their leader suddenly dropped on them after laying his daughter to sleep. He and Jessie sat close to one another, having been patched up by Aerith and good as new.

Upon the group arriving in Cosmo Canyon, they took up a single residence due to a lack of funding. The home was large enough for all of them, though not overly so, and it came pre-furnished as part of the deal that they had struck with the Elders. By acting as the first line of defense against monsters that came close to the town in the absence of the guardian tribe, they were allowed to use it as they pleased.

Barret nodded from his chair. "That's right. Not sure how long I'll be gone this time, but I'm goin' with Tifa and them when they leave soon."

Wedge slammed his fist on the table and rose from his seat in blatant defiance, sending Barret a challenging glare. "Marlene has been waiting ages for you to come back. Seeing you made her the happiest she's been since you left to chase rumors. Now you're going to leave not even a few days later for who knows how long?"

Of course Wedge would object the loudest. The death of his brother had been a hard event on him, something he lamented not being there for. So he took to Marlene like an older brother, looking out for her in Barret's place when he wasn't there.

"You heard what Cloud and Tifa said about the Spirit Energy and stuff," he said. "They been goin' against Shinra all this time and have been doin' their part to help the Planet. One of us should be there along with them. It's gotta be me."

"And why exactly does it have to be you?" Wedge demanded. "Don't you have a responsibility to look after Marlene as well? Do you know how much it'll hurt her when she finds out?"

Barret rose out of his chair and reached across the table with his good hand, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him in. "You think I don't know that? There's nothin' I'd like better than to be here for her and to see her grow up! But there has to be a world for her to grow up in, and I have to see it through to the end."

Silence lingered after his declaration, the two men breathing tensely. Once the moment of anger passed, he let Wedge go and sighed, taking a deep breath. "It's gotta be me," he said again, keeping his voice leveled this time. "I was the one callin' the shots in Midgar and ya'll are the ones payin' the price. The life you've all been buildin' here is a new chance to start again, so I'm not sendin' anyone else to their deaths."

Truthfully, he had been considering what he could do in light of what happened in Midgar when they arrived in Gongaga. Aerith had stated that Titan could sense the burden he held on his shoulders, the weight of everything that had transpired. It joined him to help him shoulder that responsibility and serve the Planet properly. That was why he was going with them—to save the Planet in earnest, without using it as a pretense to mask the desire for revenge that he burned with.

Wedge was reluctant to believe it. That much could be seen in his eyes. But he didn't contest it any further as he sat back down in his seat. "Fine."

 **[-oOo-]**

Tifa couldn't help but wonder if they hadn't passed through the Gates of Hell the moment they went through the Sealed Gate. They had descended further into the shadows before they entered a chamber of caverns that had a deathly chill about it, despite the harsh glow of the magma in the distance and the soft green illumination from veins lining the walls. It was unnatural, and her first instincts were that she had no business being here.

Then she saw something shifting in the shadows, moving as though it swam in darkness. At the same time she felt dozens of maleficent gazes upon her, wanting nothing more than to spear through her heart. She swallowed and balled her fist tight, tensing for a fight.

 _"What is this place?"_ Nanaki whispered harshly, head low and fangs bared in anticipation. _"There's bloodlust coming from all over… no, it's something even viler than that_ **—AGGHH!** "

Without warning, without preamble, Nanaki had been pierced by at least half-a-dozen spears being held by emaciated figures wearing tattered cloaks that obscured their faces in the shadows. There were no wounds being made as they stabbed him over and over, but his pained cries were real all the same. They were killing him.

 **"Red!"** Tifa yelled. A jolt to the mind triggered the Fire Materia she had and she threw the sphere of flames towards the nearest one attacking him. "Get off of him!"

The flames caused it to shriek and it thrashed against another, causing it to suffer and cease attacking as well. Then one of the remaining ones turned their attention to Tifa, who was readying her Ice Materia next, and brandished its spear towards her. Foreign words emerged from it that wormed their way into her flesh and then _deeper_.

Whatever it had done latched onto her on a level that left her feeling as though a cold grip was embracing her very life. It squeezed, tightening with every passing second, and she feared it would continue to do so until it wrung the very life out of her. Not that the Death Sentence would come to pass as the two who had been caught by her Fire spell lunged for her with their spears in retaliation.

"That's enough!" Aerith said as she stood in front of Tifa, wreathed in the light of the Limit Break with her voice trembling. It wasn't in rage or fear, as Tifa would have expected given her current state. It sounded almost… sad. " _Healing Wind_."

The silvery breeze flowed through the cavern, whistling as it surged through the multitude of chambers. It rolled over all the ghosts and… _eroded_ them, would be the best way to put it. The breeze grinded away at their forms, flecks and motes of pale green being caught in its wake and then dispersing until there were none left.

"What… just happened?" Tifa panted as the strangling sensation abruptly cut when the one who cast it vanished. "What were those monsters?"

"Those weren't monsters," Aerith said as she crouched down over Nanaki and devoted her attention to using her materias to heal him. "Those were angry spirits that weren't able to rest. The moment they saw Nanaki, they lost themselves in their anger enough to lash out at him blindly. They paralyzed his muscles, cursed him to death, and then attacked his very spirit with the intention of tearing it apart. Such loathing… it was unbearable to listen to."

"Such is the rancor of the Gi Tribe warriors who were killed in a battle here," Bugenhagan said as he floated down on his large sphere. "The Lifestream flows closely to the surface here, hence the veins that can be seen on the walls of the caverns. It is for this reason that even I, who does not possess the blessing of the Cetra, can hear the voices of the Planet. It also makes this place a bridging point, where those who cannot find peace and rejoin the Lifestream can interact with the world much more easily."

Tifa wheeled around on the old man, righteous indignation in her voice. "And you sent him down here knowing that? They could have killed him!"

"Please, do not yell at Grandfather," Nanaki pleaded as he rose to his feet. "He had his reasons. It is why he told me not to come alone."

The Elder nodded. "Nanaki, I believe what lies at the end of this path is necessary, for both your coming-of-age and bringing you closure. But know that the vengeful spirits will come after you, full of rancor and malice. If you do not wish to proceed, I will understand as well."

"I will continue," he declared. "If you believe it to be that important, then I must. However, the others—"

Tifa cut him off before he could finish. "We came with you of our own free will. You stay, we stay."

Aerith nodded in agreement as well, and Nanaki gave another grateful bow of his head before they continued on into the depths of the Cave of the Gi.


	33. Chapter 33

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken: You shall indeed.**

 **Enjoy!**

Nanaki roared as his Enemy Skill Materia shone before unleashing the Laser spell. Red beams of light similar to that of what Heidegger's war-machine used emerged from it and speared towards the giant spider. They curved in an attempt to track the long-legged creature while it scuttled along the walls and ceiling, only two of them hitting home.

The monster let loose a shriek of some kind and then bound towards Tifa, whose fist were alight with flames courtesy of the new Materia they had found, spreading the element of her Fire Materia down to them. She rolled out of the way as two of its legs pierced the ground where she had been and then froze them in place with a well-timed Ice 2 spell.

The leonine warrior snarled as the light of the Limit Break turned blood crimson and spiraled his body while he lunged a final time. Nanaki's Blood Fang punched straight through the entrapped Stinger, the spiraling energy tearing it apart like a drill while the blood and visceral fluids were absorbed and converted into vitality and essence for him. With both it gone and the web collapsed, the group now stood at the entrance to a tunnel leading deeper into the cave.

"Well done," the Elder stated as he hovered in front of them, stopping in front of the entrance. "We're almost near the end now."

Even as he said that, Aerith found it hard to continuously listen to the old man as the voices became louder the deeper they went into the cave system. She had always been able to hear the voice of the Planet, those that dwelled within the Lifestream, and those that lingered outside of it to an extent. But this was the first time they were so grating, scratching at her brain as the vengeful spirits chanted in the shadows.

 _By the wrath of Gi Nattak, we curse the people of this land._  
 _Their warriors, their chefs, their children may all meet their end._  
 _We curse them now and forever true._  
 _Our deaths will be avenged by the wrath of Gi Nattak._

"Aerith, we're going," Tifa said, snapping her attention back to her companion. "You okay? You're a bit out of it."

"I'm fine," she lied, even as the chanting continued in its ominous chorus. She could hear the pain and suffering in their voices, droning endlessly as their time spent in the mortal realm ate away at the vestiges of what they were. The longer these spirits lingered, the more the spirit energy that composed them became stagnant and festered. The longer they remained and stewed in the rancor around them, the more unlikely they would to be able to join the great flow. There was no telling what such a thing would eventually give birth to, but to her it sounded like a cry for help that only she could truly hear.

While the Elder himself was a minor exception, he wasn't an Ancient or Cetra. Whether or not his long life and ability to hear the voice of the Planet were a mutation brought about by living so close to the Lifestream or a gift from the Planet itself to spread his teachings, he wasn't one of her people. It wasn't his duty or in his ability to resolve this.

She pressed forward into the final section of the cavern, where the sheer drops to the left and right gave way to molten earth deep down. In front of them was a wall that seemed to be shaped like a face, warped by a staff and materia, both aged and covered in dust from disuse. From it stemmed the source of the irrational and malevolent hatred, strong enough that it was able to affect the physical world as the face came to life.

It rippled, giving birth to a specter that surpassed the others they had faced in sheer size. It lacked a lower body, its torso coming to an abrupt end where its spine dangled, and it was donned in ceremonial feathers and a necklace made from fangs that resembled Nanaki's. The staff that had been fixed into the wall twisted and warped into a red spear with feathered tassels that the specter pointed to the leonine warrior.

 ** _'Seto!'_** it roared in a phantasmal **_'Our battle is not over!'_**

"He seems to believe you are your father, Nanaki," Bugenhagen said from behind her. "It has been almost fifty-years, yet he still clings to that day as ever."

"What do you mean, Grandfather?" Nanaki asked, not taking his eyes off the specter.

"That's going to have to wait, I'm afraid," Tifa said. "He's coming."

"I'll focus on quelling his rage with Life spell," Aerith said as she replaced the Transform Materia with a Revive Materia that Kunsel had picked up for her in Costa del Sol. "However, the spell has a low chance of working while he's stewing in all of that rage and malevolence. And as long as he holds onto his grudge and his spirit lingers here, the rest of the spirits won't be able to pass on."

"So beat the hate out of an angry ghost." Tifa slammed her fist into her palm and fire shrouded them. "I can't say this trip has been boring."

In a single, swift move, the specter thrust its spear forward towards Nanaki. The tip bit into the ground and threw up a spray of stone chips and dust as the leonine warrior moved, darting to the side and pooling flames in his mouth in the form of a spiraling sphere. It conjured two will-o-wisps and had them float into the path of the Fire spell, intercepting and absorbing the flames, before sweeping at him with the spear and forcing Nanaki to leap backwards.

"Try this!" Tifa launched a cannonball-sized sphere of condensed cold, wreathed in white-and-blue frost. The Ice 2 spell detonated on impact as the specter raised its spear in defense and the abrupt cold engulfed its torso and spear in a frigid cloak of thickening hard-rime. "Aerith now!"

"Life!" Aerith cast. Light from above shone down on the specter, beckoning it to surrender and return to the great flow. For a moment, just a moment, it seemed like the spell was working as some of the malevolence dissipated. Then the spell failed as Gi Nattak broke out of the ice, shattering it with a flex of his stout arms, and turned to the two of them.

 ** _'Do not interfere!'_** the angry spirit roared as he directed the Soul Fires towards the women. They turned translucent and then intangible before sinking into their flesh. The cursed flames slowly raised the surrounding temperature around them, intent on cook them alive.

Aerith slammed the butt of her staff into the ground while a jolt to the mind activated both the Restore and All Materia she had. "Regen!" she cast, wreathing herself and her companions within the restorative shroud to counter the damage from the flames within. "We have to bear with it a little longer, our bodies should expel it soon enough."

"Easier said than done!" Tifa tried to get back into the fight. But crimson light sank into her flesh as Gi Nattak used the Drain spell to rob her of her strength in retaliation for the damage he took, stealing her life essence to replenish his own. Aerith had no choice but to resort to a Cure 2 spell to offset the damage on them both as the air around them began to burn.

"Leave them be!" Nanaki roared as he fired a salvo of Lasers, allowing the curving red beams to spear towards the specter. They did nothing to it. Snarling, Red XIII threw himself at the enemy while baring fangs.

Gi Nattak moved, floating out of the way and grabbing hold of his tail. He immediately flung the leonine warrior across the room and towards the opened section of the ground that led to the lava pits below.

 **"NO!"** Bugenhagen yelled from near the entrance of the cavern.

Survival instincts kicked in along with his anger and the light of the Limit Break wreathed Nanaki. He turned his flight into an aerial roll,landing on all fours against the wall just above the pit, and then launched himself off of it while cloaked in the spiraling crimson shroud of the Blood Fang. Nanaki crashed into the specter, slamming it into the wall, before landing back on the ground and erupting into flames. **"IFRIT!"**

The Djinn was born anew at the leonine warrior's call. It lunged for the specter, wrestling it to the ground with its powerful muscles. The fire elemental's maw opened and flames suddenly sprung to life, fast and hot enough that the air being displaced at the abrupt inferno knocked Nanaki backwards.

The Soul Fires quickly dislodged themselves from the women and spiraled around the summoning, drinking in the flames long enough for Gi Nattak to use Aspil and rip away at the very bonds of magic that were holding the summoning together, weakening it drastically enough that the specter could push it away. The spear's tip then found its way through the Djinn's body and finished the job, dispersing the summoning entirely.

 **"SHIVA!"** Tifa called, now freed from the possession. An arctic wind sprung into existence around her as the second summoning was birthed from the materia. The Empress of Ice floated loftily above her summoner and awaited her command. **"Diamond Dust! End it now!"**

 _"As you wish,"_ said the summoning as she extended both hands towards the specter and will-o-wisps. They were flash-frozen, encased in a solid shell of clear ice so cold that the Soul Fires were snuffed out the moment it engulfed them. The summoning then snapped her fingers, causing the shell to violently implode and then shatter into itself, the resulting jagged fragments further violating the specter's form.

Gi Nattak slouched forward from the cumulative damage of fire and ice. _'…This is not… the end!'_

The words went unheard by Nanaki as he pushed forward, past the remaining ice turned into glittering motes. Pale blue energy formed a shell around him as he bound towards the undead warrior chief of the Gi Tribe. He speared through the specter like a shooting star, punching a hole through his ancestral enemy with his ancestral technique, and then skidded to a stop at the exit to the cavern as the angry ghost collapsed onto the ground.

 _'My rage will… live on, Seto!'_ Gi Nattak declared, staying whole despite the grievous wound by sheer force of will and hatred. The specter craned its head around to see that Nanaki was preparing to finish it with a final Fire spell. _'Even if you shatter… my spirit… my warriors will remain! They will haunt this very land!'_

"Stop!" Aerith ordered, before he could deliver the final strike. Nanaki listened, quelling the fire that pooled in his mouth. She stepped forward, coming to a stop in front of the specter.

 _'Why do you interfere?'_ demanded the angry spirit that was barely holding itself together, stitched by the maleficent emotions that it clung to.

"Your battle has long since ended," Aerith said as the specter tried to rise again. "You need to let go of your hatred and move on."

 _'My grudge will not die until Seto has died by my hands!'_ It weakly grasped its spear, lacking the strength to actually lift it at the moment. _'I will never stop!'_

"Has your hatred clouded your mind so much that you cannot hear the suffering of your people's spirits?" Bugenhagen asked as he floated forward. "Your people attacked Seto's on your command and died by his fangs. Yet their spirits linger, tethered and warped by your grudge against Seto for your defeat. They have been stripped of their pride and turned into hate-fueled wraiths because the one who should lead them to the rest that was promised to them upon death denies them it. Listen to them, hear their suffering, and tell me that your grudge has been worth it."

The specter was silent in response, listening to their words. The chanting continued as it had before, but beneath the words their suffering was clear. He could no longer deny it, evident in his how his posture leaned forward.

"Whatever grudges people hold onto in life should be laid to rest in death," Aerith continued. "Otherwise they won't be able to join the great flow. They suffer in darkness, only able to watch and lament. Their sins and emotions will only taint them to the point that nothing remains of what they once were. Accept what has happened and be at peace."

 _'…Peace…'_ Gi Nattak said pensively, hesitant. _'I have… forgotten what that is like… my hatred… it still burns….'_

"I'll help you remember it." Aerith pointed her staff at him and the materia shone as she cast the Life spell. This time, Gi Nattak didn't resist as the light from above gently encompassed him. Instead, he looked towards it and raised a hand as if to reach for it.

 _'Ah… I see it beckoning us…'_ He let free a sigh of relief as his figure turned to shimmering motes. _'Let us go towards the light, my warriors…'_

It was like a dark curtain had been lifted by the time the light died. The only traces of the Gi Tribe left behind were the Wizer Staff and Gravity Materia within it, perched in front of the exit to the cave. The voices and malevolence were gone as well.

"You have my thanks," Bugenhagen said as he came to a stop in front of the staff. "Though I knew their grudges lingered, never did I imagine it stemmed from Gi Nattak, nor that he would be so powerful. It is lucky Nanaki has met such powerful friends."

"Elder, he's waiting for you and Nanaki," Aerith said. "We'll stay here and give you some privacy."

Bugenhagen nodded. "Let us go, Nanaki. Seto awaits us both."

"Grandfather… what is this all about?" the leonine warrior asked the Elder. "What do you mean he awaits us?"

"It is time you learned the truth about your father," he said. "That he fought against every last warrior that crossed through the caverns and stopped them from taking so much as a step into our homeland. And while he was never able to return to the town afterwards, his spirit remains to watch over us."

For once Nanaki looked hesitant. It made sense. He stated that he always burned with hatred against his father for his supposed cowardice when they were around the Cosmo Candle. It had been almost fifty-years since then, a long time to cling to any belief. That was being brought into question at this very moment.

"That he would not see his son, that his son would believe him a coward, surely tethers him to this world as much as his duty to protect the Canyon." Bugenhagen floated down next to Nanaki on his green sphere and laid an aged hand on his head, as though he were a child. "Come now. Let us give him peace now that the Gi Tribe has been put to rest."

The hesitation persisted for a moment more, and then he nodded. The two disappeared into the exit, leaving the women alone. It wasn't even three minutes later that they heard Nanaki howling in honor of his father.

And Aerith heard the final whispers of the lingering spirit before it also joined the Lifestream.

 _'…Thank you all… I am proud Nanaki has found such companions…'_

 **[-oOo-]**

Nanaki stalked through another cavern after paying respects to his father and seeing his companions back to the Cosmo Candle, where they found the Thief slumbering and the Tactician staring into the flame while deep in thought. His Grandfather had relayed his thoughts and wishes upon him, to see their journey to the end and save the Planet from the threat that Sephiroth and Jenova presented. The leonine warrior would honor those wishes, but before he left there was still one more matter than needed to be resolved.

The path of the cavern he was currently trekking through was lined with veins of the solidified Lifestream, much like the Cave of the Gi. However, torches also lined the path. They were lit by the Elders nightly as they brought their offerings to the one who sits upon the altar.

"I heard your howl and knew you would come," said a voice he had longed to hear after so many years. He passed through the cave mouth and found his mate, Deneh, there. Her fur was toned a lighter shade than his and she looked slightly leaner, but she still remained as beautiful as he remembered her. "It is good to see you again, Nanaki."

"As is to lay eyes upon you once more, Deneh," he said humbly as he came to a stop in front of the raised altar. He dared not touch it and violate the ceremony. "I would have come sooner and in one piece, alas my capture—"

"I know. You are no coward, Nanaki." Her eyes roamed over his body and visage, taking into account the tattoo that branded him like an animal and his missing eye that had been claimed by one of Hojo's abominations. Rather than seeing him as lesser for them, a crook formed in the corner of her lips. "You bear the scars of a warrior quite well."

He felt a weight lift off of him at her words. As her head lowered from the altar, his met hers and they nuzzled one another. It had been too long indeed, and though he wanted nothing more than to remain like that he had to pull away after drawing out the moment as long as possible.

"I must depart once more," he told her. "Grandfather has entrusted me with his wish to protect a Shamaness who hears the voice of the Planet, alongside her companions."

"Need I not stay for a time longer, I would join you," Deneh said softly. "It seems our respective duties will keep up apart for the moment. But I will be free soon and will await your return."

"And I will return to be by your side, with many tales to tell you of my travels," he promised. "Until then my beloved mate, I shall take my leave."

Taking a final glance and burning her visage into his memories, he departed from the cavern and Cosmo Canyon along with the others….


	34. Chapter 34

**Another chapter is here!**

 **sdphantom10: lol**

 **Kazeshuriken: Thank you!**

 **Enjoy!**

Denzel strained not to drop the watering can that was bigger than his head as the water drizzled from the nozzle at the end, sprinkling it over the parched ground that darkened as it drank it down. At present he stood on the lower section of the garden, watering the center patch of golden flowers. With the light peaking from above and the water surrounding them, though he was told not to drink or touch any of it, it was easily one of the prettiest homes in Midgar—let alone the Slums.

"Let's go, Denzel," Mrs. Elmyra said from across the fence, on the top section divided by an angled platform. There were dirt stains on her apron from wiping her hands on it. "Mister Reeve will be here soon. We need to get cleaned up."

"Yes ma'am," he said, leaning back the watering can so it didn't overflow and drown the flowers. She had told him to be careful with that when they first started. There were so many flowers that it took close to an hour to take care of them.

Denzel still wasn't sure why Mr. Reeve Tuesti called himself Richard Reeve when he came down here, but he had been told to go along with it on their way down. He had been nervous coming down to the Slums after what his father had told him about it being dirty and polluted, and that people had to eat rats. But this was the only place that flowers grew in Midgar, and Mrs. Ruvie wanted real flowers. By helping here he could learn more about how to make them grow on the surface plate, where there was more sunlight and cleaner water.

He followed her inside of her two-story home and washed his hands while she placed her apron in a dirty clothes basket. He was in the process of drying them with a towel when he noticed a wooden staff. It looked a bit old and dinged.

"That was my daughter's practice staff," Mrs. Elmyra said as she approached in her green dress. "I made that from an old broom handle so she could practice how to defend herself when she didn't have the arm strength to use a metal one."

"Did it help her?" he asked.

"I imagine it has in her journey, but…." Her expression turned bittersweet for a moment, a longing look like he saw on Mrs. Ruvie at times. Then it went away as she put back on a smile for him. "Anyway, take a seat at the table and I'll make you a snack before you head back."

He did so and, minutes later, he was eating a sandwich and drinking a glass of water. The latter had a nice flavor to it. "Is this water special somehow? It tastes good."

"It's the same water that we use to water the flowers," she said, a proud smile forming on her face. "Faucet water contains too many chemicals, and the rainwater around Midgar is unhealthy because of the runoff from the reactors. My daughter made a purifier when she was about your age so that she could grow flowers and we've used it ever since for cooking and drinking as well. She was a gift to me, even if it came at a price."

This Aerith girl sounded like a really great person to have done so much around his age. Denzel couldn't help but wonder if he would be capable of helping Mrs. Ruvie grow her flowers if it took someone who was special to do so.

"So what did you think of your time here?" Mrs. Elmyra asked as she sat down across from him at the table and took a sip from a cup. "It wasn't too hard, was it?"

He shook his head. "It's a really nice place and the flowers are pretty. I never thought it was like this below the plate."

"Most people who live above the plates avoid coming below it like there's a plague spreading around down here, so that's to be expected." She set the cup down on the table and set her hand on her lap. "No one knows better than those who are being discriminated against how others perceive them. Given how jumpy you were at first, I'll bet that you were told stories about how scary it was to be down here, weren't you?"

Denzel had the decency to at least look apologetic at that. His head fell low. "I'm sorry if that was rude of me."

Her eyes remained gentle. "It's fine. I won't say it's completely safe when it isn't. You do need to know how to take care of yourself down here, more so after that tragedy done by Shinra's lapdogs."

He figured she meant the plate being dropped and frowned. Denzel remembered the destruction he had witnessed, the embers and smoke rising up from the fallen plate where his parents had been. The soldiers there had told him that AVALANCHE was responsible. "Those terrorists were the ones who dropped the plate, weren't they?"

"That's a lie," she said immediately, no doubt in her voice. "They weren't saints and they have a lot to answer for, but Shinra holds the blame for that. Even now they take advantage of those who they victimized by drafting them into their army to use as tools."

Denzel then recalled the words about bombs being set by Mr. Arkham, and what he said as the plate fell. Was it true then? Were the people his father worked for the ones who ultimately led to his parents being killed?

There was a knock on the door before he could get the answer. It was Mr. Tuesti. "Hello, Elmyra. I trust things went well?"

"Yes. He was a big help." She walked into the kitchen briefly and came out with a bundle of flowers. "I'm almost heartbroken to have to give him back to your mother, but I'm not that selfish."

"I'm glad he wasn't any trouble." He gestured for Denzel to come to him. "I'll repay you for the favor somehow. If there's a particular type of meal you would prefer, I think I could make a reservation—"

Her eyebrows quirked in partial amusement as she broke in with the question, "Are you asking me to dinner?"

"Ah, I meant it as a gesture of goodwill but I suppose it did sound that way." He looked somewhat embarrassed or sheepish at being called out on it as Denzel looked between them.

"I'll consider it. It has been a long time since I've eaten something at a restaurant…" She crouched down and handed Denzel the flowers that had been bundled up. "Give my regards to Mrs. Ruvie."

He nodded. "Thank you for watching over me and the flowers."

Their partings words said, Mr. Tuesti escorted him back onto the train and they rode in the front compartment back up to where his mother lived. It was there, when they were alone, he asked the man, "Mister Tuesti, was Shinra responsible for what happened to Sector 7?"

The man in question looked around to be certain that they were alone. "Did Miss Gainsborough tell you that?"

He nodded. "She said they did it and they were taking advantage of the other people by putting them in their army. Does… does that mean the people responsible for what happened to my mother and father were his bosses?"

The old man took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, yes. Heidegger and the President came up with the idea and went through with it before anyone could stop them."

Denzel found the flowers in his arms trembling at the confirmation. His mother had gone back because she wanted to help her friends and neighbors, and his father went to get her. "But my father and Mister Arkham worked for them, and they knew it was happening. Does that make them—"

"Your father wasn't a bad person," Mr. Tuesti assured him. "Neither was Mister Arkham. They sound like honest men who worked for bad people. The ones in charge are responsible, but I'm working on changing that. However, it'll take time and you can't tell anyone—not even my mother."

The boy nodded silently as the train continued to rise up above the plates, where the evening sun hung high in the sky.

 **[-oOo-]**

Elena yawned as she finished documenting the time that Reeve left the house of the Ancient from her perch, binoculars in hand. From the casual way that they were interacting, it seemed as though they were acquainted, something she would also note. It was probably innocent, maybe an arrangement for her to have flowers delivered to the orphanage that had been recently built, but she had been given orders to observe and document everything she could.

Sadly, it was probably the most exciting thing that's happened in the time she had been assigned to watch over the Ancient's adoptive-mother for any activity that could be used to pinpoint her location. Her superior, Tseng, assured her that it was an important task. He said that she would be the most suited for it. But, after so many days, she was starting to wonder if it wasn't because she was in the way after her failure in Costa del Sol.

The others had succeeded in what they were supposed to do except for her. The traitor was shot and hopefully dead by Tseng's hands. There had been enough blood that it would be a close-call, but they had no confirmation so far. Hojo had been retrieved alive, if in a coma with no signs of waking up anytime soon, and Heidegger was still being an abusive asshole to the new recruits and looked at the Turks like something he would scrape off his shoe.

Not her though. She had been too slow to grab the Ancient and barely managed to get away before she had been cut in half by that huge sword. They shouldn't even make things that big. Well, at least she hadn't been fired yet.

Elena missed being in contact with her superior. He was on a mission to escort Scarlet, the Head of their Weapons Development department, in investigating several locations where Huge Materia could purportedly be found. In light of her machine being destroyed, which she mocked Heidegger's incompetence for behind his back, she wanted to use the materia to create an ultimate weapon that could be used to defeat both the traitor's group and Sephiroth after they had both attacked the Cargo Ship and Costa del Sol.

That woman rubbed the newest of the Turks the wrong way. She was haughty, rude, impractically dressed, and had a stupid laugh. The Turks at least used violence as a last resort and operated on a purely professional level, addressing all of their superiors with respect, whereas she practically got off on the chance to hurt people and put her own standing in the company above its wellbeing.

As for Reno and Rude, they were doing… something in the main building. She wasn't really clear on the details. She could only hope that they were doing what they were supposed to do instead of lazing about and wondering when they could take a vacation. Honestly, sometimes it felt like she and Tseng were the only motivated ones.

About an hour after Reeve left, the priority target headed to the Wall Market. Elena followed, dressed down in order to blend in and not draw any attention to herself.

The Wall Market was normally crowded, but with Sector 7 destroyed the number of vagrants loitering around had increased by a few hundred, begging for loose Gil. Since the only ones who could apply for the Shinra armed forces had been men of a moderate age and level of fitness, those that were too old had been left behind. Women who at least looked somewhat decent and had low moral fiber could go to work at the Honeybee Inn, but likewise those that couldn't were left without much either.

The children probably had it the easiest since Reeve had managed to get the current president to remodel the manor, where the deceased Don of the Wall Market had once lived, into an orphanage. He used the pragmatic basis of showing that the company is still sympathetic to their problems, at a time where good PR was a necessity. Tseng also backed him, but that was on the principal that it could also serve to scout out potential recruits.

Elena was still a bit upset that she got stuck ridding the sewers of that giant rat, sealing up the entrance to the dungeon, and ensuring that there were no more skeletons in the closets. It had to be handled quickly, quietly, and in secret—the job of a Turk. It still stunk and took her hours to wash the stench out.

Her tailing came to an abrupt end when a couple of rugrats bumped into her and one of them dropped a pot of some kind. The child with the bandana looked up at her and shouted, "Hey that was my mother's!"

"You bumped into me," Elena said bluntly. "You should have been watching where you were going."

"Meanie!" He tugged at her shirt, joined by a few other kids that circled her and called her the same thing. "Meanie! Meanie!"

Elena resisted the urge to shake them off since she knew it was likely a scam. It would draw even more attention if she did. Better to pretend to be a rube than drawing eyes to her when she specifically didn't want that. She thrust a decent amount of Gil at them to get them out of the way. "Here, buy a new one!"

They took it and ran, but when she turned her head she found that her target was gone. She frowned at the thought that Tseng was going be upset with her.

 **[-oOo-]**

Elmyra doubled back home the moment that her tail had been distracted, closing the windows and blinds before heading to her bathroom. There she set her purse on the bathroom counter and pulled out an envelope and phone. While those children hassled the woman that had been following her, another child approached her and stated he was paid to give her the phone and letter by a man lingering in the shadows of one of the buildings. She vaguely recognized him from the time that he had come over with the others before her daughter left.

Her fingers trembled when she read the front of the envelope containing the letter, from her daughter and addressed to her. It had been so long since she had seen Aerith's face or heard her voice that she had been worried that something had happened to her. She couldn't help but rush back home without finishing her shopping. She opened the envelope and the letter read:

 _Dear Mother,_

 _I hope that this letter reaches you, unlike the last ones I wrote for Zack. He said that he would deliver it and he hasn't disappointed us yet, so I'll have faith that it'll be your eyes only that find it. I have so much I want to talk to you about, but there was only so much time to write down my thoughts. It'd be easier if they weren't scrambled after what happened last night, but I think I'll tell you what we've been up to._

 _After we left home, we went to Kalm. It was my first time leaving Midgar, so I was a little more than excited. The countryside hills surrounding it were absolutely gorgeous and it was the kind of place you mentioned that you would have loved to have lived in._

 _Then we had to cross the marshes south of it on Chocobos that we caught ourselves and learned to ride with Mog's help. The one I had was sweet and brave, but… but he didn't make it. It was sad to watch, but the others kept me safe as we made our way to Junon._

 _Oh, and we met a new friend before we crossed the ocean by sneaking onto a ship and ended up in Costa del Sol. I got to wear a swimsuit and played on the beach for awhile before we left. I'm getting ready to leave Cosmo Canyon now, but I learned a lot about my heritage here and met Zack's parents. You know the SOLDIER that I had been close to until he disappeared…._

 _I also learned about my birthfather. His name was Professor Gast Faremis. He worked for Shinra but helped my birthmother escape after they fell in love. They were happy until Hojo found them and… he tried to protect us, but they were armed…._

 _I know I'm brushing over things quickly and leaving out a lot of the details. I just don't want to worry you when this is the longest we've been apart. I haven't contacted you sooner since Shinra probably bugged your phone and are watching you—and be careful around Tseng and the others too. I thought I could trust him before, but then he… just be careful. If I lost you too, I don't know what I would do._

 _I'm running out of space, so I'll just say that despite all the different places we've seen and visited, I miss our home. I miss the flowers in the garden. And most of all, I miss you, Mother._

 _I miss hearing your voice and seeing you smile. I miss the food you cooked for me and my room. I miss it all, but I have to put the Planet before myself. I have a duty to fulfill and I'm the only one who can do it._

 _The others are helping to keep me safe, but it's still hard. I've watched them get hurt for my sake more than once. I'm afraid that one day one of them will die and it'll be my fault, but I have to do my duty as a Cetra no matter how much it hurts, otherwise the Planet itself may be in trouble._

 _I hope that I'll be able to send another letter sometime, or that he'll deliver one from you to me. Please take care of yourself until then._

 _With Love,_  
 _Your Beloved Daughter._

Elmyra's eyes fell onto the last part and noticed the darkened spots near the signature, tearstains. Some were hers as she read the letter, knowing that her daughter was troubled but safe, but the older ones were definitely Aerith's. It had been hard for her to put it all down into words, but Elmyra could tell that she was pained by the fact that she not only had to give up her old life to follow her heritage, but that her companions were at risk of dying.

She wanted to be there for her daughter, to console her like any mother should. The man who delivered the letter must've understood that much as well. She was willing to bet that was what the phone had been for, an untapped line for them to communicate with one another.

Elmyra went through the phone and found there was a single number in the contact list. She pressed the "Call" button and held her breath as the other end rang. It rang and rang and rang, her heart pounding with mixed feelings of hope and worry.

Then the line connected….


	35. Chapter 35

**Another Chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken : Very smart indeed!**

 **Enjoy!**

The PHS's ringing woke Aerith from her slumber inside of the Buggy, nestled some distance away Nibelheim to avoid being spotted. It was the consensus of the group that the people living there would likely be reporting on any visitors in the town to Shinra, and they were too conspicuous to simply walk through town during the day. So they'd move on the manor in another few hours while it was dark out, using the darkness to obscure them from the view of anyone who wasn't asleep at the late hour.

She stirred from beneath the sleeping bag-turned-cover and pulled her phone out of her pocket to see an unknown number. Curious, she answered. "Hello?"

The soft voice that answered was instantly recognizable. _"Aerith, Sweetheart, is that you?"_

Gone was the lethargy from her early sleep. Her voice cracked as she cradled the phone to her ear. "M-Mother? Ho-How did you—".

 _"Your friend who delivered the letter gave me the phone,"_ she said. _"I've missed hearing from you."_

"I've missed you too." She looked out the window to see that Barret was the only one visible, smoking a cigar as he performed maintenance on his weapon-arm. It had been used a lot on the trip. Nibel wolves were a pain to deal with. Aerith curled up and kept talking. "How have you been? Shinra and Tseng haven't been giving you any problems, have they?"

A small, good-natured chuckle came over the line. _"I've been doing fine. Everything's been peaceful and I've been taking care of the flowers too. I've even made a friend, I think… but what about you?"_

"I don't know where to start," she said. "So much has happened…."

 _"Start with what you feel is the easiest to tell me and we'll go from there."_

"Well, I met Zack's parents not too long ago." She thought back to the time spent in their place at Cosmo Canyon. Tears prickled the corner of her eyes before falling down her cheeks. "They were nice people, but they hadn't seen their son in such a long time only to learn he had died recently. When I thought of how long he had been gone without them having any word about him, I thought about how you would have felt too. But just like you, Shinra was watching them until they finally killed him…"

She took a deep breath and leaned her head back against the hull of the Buggy. "I felt when it happened. It was that was the night I didn't come home, before everything that happened in Sector 7."

 _"I remember that night,"_ her mother said. _"I ended up finding you in the church with your eyes reddened from crying, but you wouldn't say why."_

"I needed to come to terms with it alone," she said. "I mostly did by the time I met Cloud and the others, but after meeting his parents I couldn't help but feel that if he wasn't on the way back to see me then Shinra wouldn't have killed him. It doesn't help that one of my friends nearly died when Tseng shot her and we barely kept her alive long enough to get her real help."

 _"I'm sorry to hear that,"_ she said. _"Did she blame you for it?"_

"No, she didn't," Aerith said. "In fact, she wants to help me for as long as it takes to accomplish my mission. All of them are the only reason I've made it this far given everything we've fought against, but I _hate_ the thought that I might end up sacrificing them to do my duty as a Cetra. Maybe if I go alone…."

She trailed off when the door opened and Crimson came in. "Aerith, I need you to come with me."

"Can I have a moment?" she asked.

"Okay, but hurry. I'm not sure how long they'll remain unconscious." She stepped out of the Buggy and waited by the door, her attention briefly turned elsewhere out of courtesy.

"I'm sorry, Mother," Aerith said regretfully. "I have to do something. Can I call you back?"

 _"Of course, Sweetheart,"_ her mother said. _"You can call anytime, for any reason, and I'll answer. I love you."_

"I love you too. Goodbye for now." She hung up her PHS and started down at the number on the screen for a moment before saving it into her contact list. Then she grabbed her Wizer Staff and bangle loaded with materia, and slipped on her coat before climbing out of the Buggy. "Sorry."

"Who were you talking to?" Crimson asked. "Was it Kunsel? Did he make it to Midgar?"

Aerith's hair softly swayed forward as she nodded her head. "He did, but it was my mother I was talking to. He gave her a PHS after my letter. Thank you for that."

She looked pensively at Aerith for a moment at that. "What do you mean?"

"When he told me to write a letter to her, he said it was your suggestion," Aerith explained. "Because of that, I could hear her voice again and that she was okay. It makes things a lot easier, so thank you."

"Uh… it was nothing," Crimson said. "Anyway, I need you to take a look at two people I've knocked out with my Seal Materia. I think they're Sephiroth Clones."

 **[-oOo-]**

Cloud noted, as the lock came undone with a click and the door creaked softly as it opened, that it was a strange feeling having to break into what used to be his own home. He had asked Yuffie to help him to do so, reasoning that she had experience with this sort of thing. It hadn't even taken her ten seconds to pick the lock.

The kunoichi popped her head into the entrance, ears perked up to listen for snoring, and ushered Cloud to come in before she quietly closed the door and pulled out one of her Seal Materia. She cast the Sleepel spell onto the old woman who was lying in the bed, already asleep. The forced slumber was stronger, deeper, ensuring that she would enter a dreamless sleep from which she wouldn't wake while they were here, no matter how much noise they made.

A job well-done, she gave him a thumbs-up. "We should be good to go, but you probably won't find anything from when you lived here. Chances are that when they rebuilt the town they got rid of anything that could be used to identify anyone lived here before as a precaution."

"We had a hidden safe," Cloud said as he crossed the hardwood floor and went towards the stone-covered kitchen. "I want to see if anything is still there, to see if everything really is how I remember it."

Cloud noticed that tiles had been scrubbed clean, but not replaced. He moved aside the rug in front of the sink and felt around the edges. It seemed like the groove that they could use a knife to wedge it open had been melted shut. He slammed the bottom of his fist down with all the strength his mako-enhanced muscles had, breaking the stone layer covering the opening to reveal a hollowed out section with a lockbox.

Yuffie took a look at it. The box was covered in dust and cooled soot, the top layer slightly warped but solid. "It's flame-resistant, if not flame-proof, so whatever is inside should still be moderately intact. Want me to pick the lock open?"

He handed it to her before sweeping the broken pieces of stone into the hollowed out section and then covered the opening back up with the rug. It would be found out sooner or later, but that didn't matter as long as they were gone by morning. When he turned back he found that she was finished working on the lock and pulled the lid open.

Inside were a few trinkets he had placed in it when he was a child, one of which was a photo. It had his mother, Claudia Strife, and him on it. They were in front of the house when he was younger, and she was holding him in her arms while dressed in an orange dress and white apron.

Pain flickered briefly as memories of when he came home shortly before everything went to hell came to the front. She was always worried about him, but he never imagined that one of the last things they would talk about would be his love life. It was foggy in some places, but he could be sure now that it was real at least. He had lived here with her until the day Sephiroth lost his damn mind and took her away from him.

Cloud placed the photo back into the box and stood up before he took a final look in the house, a moment of nostalgia overcoming him. Then he squashed it down. This wasn't the home he grew up in anymore. It was a fake, inhabited by someone on Shinra's payroll instead of his mother. "Let's get out of here before the spell wears off."

They slipped out of the door and through the shadows of the early night, making their way back to the Buggy, when they spotted Crimson and Aerith disappearing behind a building with her staff in hand. A second later, a soft glow came from around the corner. They were drawn to it and came across the girls standing over a figure in a black hood on the ground, unconscious.

He was about to go up and ask them what was going on when Aerith shook her head and spoke softly, though both Yuffie and Cloud's hearing could pick it up. "No, I'm afraid not. Jenova's influence has completely overtaken his mind as well. This isn't like what's happened to Cloud, there's nothing left to retrieve."

Hearing his name and Jenova in the same sentence cause a knot of worry to form in his throat and stopped him from coming out to ask what was going around. Instead, he grabbed Yuffie and pulled her into the alley behind the building and concrete wall separating the Shinra Manor from Nibelhem. Before she could complain, he put a finger to his mouth and mimed for her to be quiet so he could listen.

"Were these two the only ones you found?" he heard Aerith ask.

"So far. I found them while scouting the manor to see if there were any guards or security. It was when I caught a look at the numbers tattooed into them that I decided to get closer and heard them mumbling something about Sephiroth and a reunion. It fits with Hojo's Reunion Theory, and I'm afraid that might mean Jenova is inside the manor—probably in the laboratory underground."

"Or Sephiroth, given that he's likely to contain the largest amount of Jenova's cells," Aerith reasoned as she stood up and brushed the front of her dress. "Should we get the others and go in as one group?"

"I'm not so sure we should until I can confirm it." Crimson held her chin in thought. "I'll go get the research documents from the safe inside of the second floor and then check the basement. If I see any signs that something has been moved around then I'll come back and tell the others. Can you hide these guys behind the trees so that they don't get spotted?"

"I guess I can," she said. "I suppose it would be bad if they recognized one of them while there's no way to save them. We'd have to explain what we know has happened to them and they'd both pick up what that means about Cloud."

"I don't want him to be bothered by this when we're hopefully close to solving the problem," Crimson said. "And who know? Maybe when we get rid of Jenova they'll regain everything they lost as well."

With that said, Crimson departed into the manor and Aerith struggled to lift the first person in the cloak onto her back. That was when he made up his mind and came out of hiding to see who it was she was trying to cart away. He ignored the shocked look and question from Aerith that followed as he pulled back the hood and saw a face he recognized.

"He was one of the kids that grew up with me and Tifa," Cloud said. "I saw him the last time I was here."

Aerith shook her head. "Not anymore. I take it you heard what we were discussing?"

He nodded. "Some of it. What does Jenova have to do with him and me?"

"… I suppose I should tell you the truth now, though Crimson won't like it." Aerith sighed. "She didn't want you to find out like this because she was worried how you would handle it, but Hojo took the survivors and put Jenova's cells into them using the same procedure that he did to create Sephiroth. He did the same thing to you as well. The difference is that there's nothing left of their personalities, Jenova has completely overwritten them."

It quickly dawned on him what that meant. The headaches only occurred during two points: when something of his past was compared to Zack or conflicted, and when he was in the presence of Sephiroth or Jenova. It was always worse in the latter case.

"Does that mean, I'm—" Before he could put his fear completely into words, the crack of the thunder and the sound of shattering glass filled the air, stemming from the rear of the manor. Cloud spared the man's whose fate was possibly a precursor to his own a final glance before he pushed it down and they ran towards the source.

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson's head was ringing. It was a constant, endless sound that drowned out all other while her vision was blurred. As it slowly came into focus and the ringing subsided, she found herself in the quivering shadow of an imposingly tall and lean figure.

"Stay conscious, child!" an elderly, stern voice ordered. "If you pass out now, you will die!"

It was easier said than done. A single punch had been enough to send her flying into the bookshelf and made everything hurt _again_ as she slouched forward from the wreckage, half-buried in the books. It was a miracle that she managed to remain conscious enough to…

 _Right, I summoned Ramuh_ , she remembered when her vision completely cleared up. Standing in her defense was the stern and rigid older man, dressed in a white robe that billowed along with his epic beard. His staff was pointed forward, spewing bolts of lightning from it to perfectly offset the Bolt 2 spell being fired towards her from the abomination that had emerged from the safe.

It was an even more apparent mishmash than the first abomination of Hojo's that they had to deal with. One side of it was colored like it was going from a violet-to-teal color gradient, with a foot and clawed arm on its left side. The other was red-to-yellow, a writhing mass of tendrils with two long tentacles acting as an arm and leg, one of which it was using to shoot forth lightning that crashed into Ramuh's.

Only Hojo would violate the natural order and create such a thing. The safe had been a trap all along and she fell for it. Why didn't she even consider that Hojo would have set her up with a final ' **Screw you** ' that he had in place, even under duress?

The answer came when Cloud burst into the room with his sword at the ready, followed by Aerith and Yuffie. She had been so focused on trying to help him that she had been hasty. She was so eager to believe the answers she was looking for were here that she dropped the ball.

Kunsel had been partially right after all.

"Take her and flee!" ordered the summoning, weaving the smaller luminous bolts of lightning into an almost solid beam that struck the creature while it lunged for him. It hit the safe hard enough that the thick metal bent out of shape, a key flying out of it and landing near the kunoichi who picked it up. "Her injury and the strain of the summoning will rob her of her consciousness soon!"

The abomination picked itself out of the safe and then proceeded to pick it up and throw it at them. The summoning used a dense bolt to deflect it, sending it askew until it plowed through the wall and into the neighboring room with a spray of stone dust and chips. Distracted while doing so, Ramuh was unable to charge another bolt in time as its massive fist swung down and crushed the elderly summoning.

"I think it's time to do what the Old Guy said!" Yuffie mentioned as she rifled through her materia pouch and grabbed her weapon. It went after her next, pointing its tentacle at her while sparks danced at the end. Cloud intercepted the Bolt 2 spell thanks to the Cover Materia, blocking the bolt that instead passed from his sword into him and then grounded itself.

"By your feet!" Aerith called as she helped Crimson up. The kunoichi looked down and saw there was a Summoning Materia there. She picked it up and tossed it underhanded to Aerith, who called it out. "Odin, cover us!"

Clad in argent armor the color of moonlight, the legendary Fell Knight appeared. His curved horns and crimson lance contrasted the polished armor and white eight-legged steed. Nevertheless, the summoning used the lance like a joust to impale the abomination, pinning it to the stone wall and bracing it in a valiant effort to hold it at bay while they fled.

They were down the stairs when a rain of stone and wood came from above. The summoning hit the ground hard, its mount notably missing and the imprint of a fist deeply pressed into its chest-plate, and the abomination landed atop of the knight with a thunderous crash. The impact of the landing scattered the summoning into glimmering motes and threw the four of them aside by the sheer force.

Crimson, ripped from Aerith's supportive hold, hit the ground. That was the moment her consciousness finally lost its battle to stay afloat. The sounds of combat faded as she passed out….


	36. Chapter 36

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken: Thank you!**

 **Enjoy!**

The abomination towered over Yuffie, leaving her looking up as it roared. The sheer wrongness of it, even compared to what she had seen so far, gave her good insight into why the others had such a vehement dislike of that Hojo quack. Either way, the moment it turned its attention to her, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck standing up and listened to her instincts to dodge.

She rolled forward as the serpentine bolt snaked through the air and blew out a chunk of the floor, using the momentum to spring forward with her weapon in hand. She dragged the blade across the hybrid abomination's torso as she passed by. The tendril-steeped side was easy to cleave through, the mass of appendages not offering very much resistance, but her weapon nearly got stuck as it crossed the vertical divide and forced her to jerk it free.

Lost Number swung down its gargantuan fist and tried to crush her before she landed. Like a nimble grasshopper she leaped out of the way. Turning to keep her in its line of sight, the physically-inclined half of the abomination met with the pointy end of the Butterfly Edge blade, backed by comparable strength to its own that let it gouge a deeper rend in its abnormally thick flesh.

Cloud backed off as a dome of distorted and intensified gravity engulfed the monster, courtesy of the Gravity Materia that Aerith had obtained during their trip into the Cave of the Gi that Yuffie had skipped out on. Not that she was upset about that. The thought of having to deal with ghosts wasn't that great in her eyes.

The spell's use only succeeded in angering it. It was strong enough to resist the pressure being forced upon it, remaining unaffected as the gravity sphere tried to pull its internal organs loose and make its skeleton crumble beneath the additional weight forced upon it. It shifted its target from the others to Aerith, generating electricity from its tendril-laden half and sending it forward with the elongated tentacle.

Aerith shrieked as the Bolt 2 spell hit home. An expression of anguish came upon her face as it passed through her, wrenching the staff out of her grasp as she fell to her knees. Her entire body trembled as the electricity ran its course.

Yuffie pulled out one of her spare Fire Materia and hammered the creature with a Fire spell before it could take another shot at their healer, giving her a chance to get back on her feet and tend to her injuries. When Lost Number turned in her direction in response to the spell, she flipped to get out of the way as it used its strong leg to hop up into the air and then came crashing back down where she had been. Then its fist came around and she raised her arm-guard in defense while she hopped back.

It broke. The sound of the metal crunching drowned out her cry as the bone in her forearm fractured. She fell into a roll at the end of her flight, rising to her feet and sliding until the heels of her feet touched the wall. Yuffie clutched her damaged arm as she watched the battle continue with them down to just Cloud continuing his assault to keep it preoccupied.

He lunged as the abomination tried to crush him with a hammer-fist, a spring in his step as he swung upwards. The blade in his hands spilled more of the creatures' lifeblood over him, severing one of the shorter tendrils in the process. Then he noticed as the fist came around and braced the flat of the blade, causing a gong-like noise to resound as the metal withstood the impact and he slid a few feet before chambering the blade and going at it again.

Yuffie felt the nebulous power of the Limit Break surging within her then and took a deep breath. Despite the energy driving her to act, she turned it inwards by entering a serene state of mind and then spreading it out to the rest of them. That primal energy turned into a force of healing and rejuvenation, healing their wounds and allowing them to rise again. She tore off the remains of her arm-guard and then flexed her healed arm to ensure it would work.

" **Fury Brand** ," Aerith announced. The light wreathing the healer dimmed as it grew more radiant around the other two, the very same energy that had abated suddenly swelling inside of the kunoichi again.

The abomination took note and aimed its longer tentacle at Yuffie, sparks of electricity crackling on tip. She grabbed hold of the energy and felt it sink into her arms and hands, down to her fingers gripping Wind Slash. She put it all into a single strike as she pushed forward, dodging the incoming bolt, and swung with all her might—severing the tentacle and cleaving through the abomination with the speed and strength of Greased Lightning.

Cloud moved next. With a battle-cry, he swung the blade three times in the blink of an eye. The creature shrieked as he did so, the blade carving so deeply into the tentacle-covered half that it severed almost all of the writhing tendrils.

The abomination staggered backwards, falling to its knee and shrieking. Had they succeeded in doing enough damage to elicit death throes? …No, they hadn't.

Instead the creature's two-halves were becoming a single entity. The purple half quickly engulfed what remained of the tendril coated-side, encroaching upon it and turning it into a mirror copy of the other half. It became a perfectly symmetrical purple beast whose abnormally thick hide concealed corded muscle, its lips curling into a cruel smile as it finished purging its weakness and looked down at the three of them.

Then it struck.

It went after Aerith first, fist cocked back and ready to rocket forward. Cloud's Cover Materia allowed him to intercept the blow. They both suffered, her being displaced as the impact sent Cloud flying. She looked as though she ended up with a dislocated shoulder, but considering he was embedded into the wall, it was the best outcome.

" _Damn… it…_ " Cloud coughed out blood as he fell onto his knees, using the sword to support his weight as the creature curled its hands into balled fists and leap up into the air to bring them down like a pair of really large hammers. However, before the finishing blow could connect, a massive bolt of dense lightning struck Lost Number and everything flashed on impact as the windows were all blown out by the resulting thunderclap.

Yuffie's ears were ringing as the creature hit the ground uncomfortably close to her. She backed off and turned towards the source of the magical attack to see that Crimson had awoken, panting fiercely as her outstretched right hand hung in the air in front of her. She had a near-vacant look in her eyes, probably from the mental strain of the summoning beforehand and the Bolt 3 spell.

"Crimson… you okay now?" Cloud asked as he forced himself up.

"The shaking… woke me up…." Another materia shone on the former Turk's bangle and she fixed her eyes onto the surprisingly durable monster that _still_ wasn't dead. "Hard to focus… body still hurts, but… it's vulnerable to magic, Poison… and Paralysis will work _tooooo_ …"

Crimson passed right out again, leaving Aerith to try and patch the three of them up. That meant Yuffie had to hold the line. She reached into her pouch for her Poison Materia and unleashed the Bio spell. Maleficent poison in the form of a dense, gelatinous sphere slammed into the abomination and ruptured, soaking every inch of it in the toxic liquid.

She had its attention now as the poison did its work. It lunged for her as it did Cloud, but Yuffie was quicker to move without the need to defend someone else. She rolled out of the way as it crushed the ground beneath her and then took aim again with same spell, casting the poisonous mass directly into its eyes and letting the acrid liquid work its magic.

Unfortunately, now she had a rampaging, _blind_ monster coming after her. Without direction, it simply lashed out and struck in her general direction. It was much harder to dodge with such erratic attacks, and one backhand successfully connected and sent her sprawling to the floor as her Poison Materia rolled out of her grasp.

"Ow!" slipped out of her mouth, despite her best efforts. The pain she was in was enough to warrant much worse, but she was more focused on the fact that it heard her. The creature turned to the sound and raised its hand to crush her. She scrambled up to her feet but wouldn't make it in time as the hand descended—

" **Seal Evil!** " Aerith declared, as though passing judgment upon it. Magical, violet-hued darts appeared above the abomination and then shot forward, skewering its muscles and mind. Paralysis took hold as every muscle in its body locked into place before it could crush her. "Cloud, now!"

Cloud flared with the light of the Limit Break and then channeled it into his blade. Yuffie figured that it was time to move when he chambered the blade and prepared to swing it down. She got clear as he fired the Blade Beam with as much force as he could manage.

The harsh glare of the crescent wave of energy blinded the kunoichi anew as it completely engulfed the abomination. The dying shriek faded into roaring destruction as the wall beyond the abomination gave way. When it died down, she opened her eyes to see that he had obliterated the wall behind it in the process, leaving no trace of the abomination.

Yuffie relaxed now that it was gone… and promptly groaned as a manual fell from above. It had probably been displaced from the second floor due to the blast. It read 'Cosmo Memory' and looked like it had something to do with Cosmo Canyon. She'd give it to Nanaki later.

Then Cloud started screaming as the creepy guy from the Cargo Ship floated out of the ground. He turned towards Cloud, who was on his hands and knees, and asked. "Are you here for the Reunion?"

"Re-Reunion?" Cloud grasped at his head. "You… you mean, Jenova?"

"She will be there." He extended a hand towards Cloud, as though reaching out for him to take it. "She will join with us, her children, at the reunion. She will become a calamity from the skies in the north, beyond Mt. Nibel."

A pained expression came across Cloud's face, and not the sort that came from physical pain. Yuffie assumed it was about the revelation that they learned outside the manor, about the clones. She decided to intervene before anything could come of it since Crimson was still unconscious and Aerith was clutching her staff, no doubt low on the mental power needed to cast a spell against him.

Before she could, there was a sudden bloom of cold as a bulwark of ice stood between him and Cloud. The creepy guy twisted his body before the flying kick that Tifa entered with could land, leaving her to ram into her own ice formation and shatter it with the kick. Rapid fire from the gun-barrel and lasers from the Enemy Skill Materia followed, only for them to both harmlessly impact against his skin.

The other had arrived. Outnumbered, he regarded them dispassionately for a moment in thought. Then he floated up into the air and through the ceiling of the manor, escaping from their grasps once again.

Tifa looked at Cloud, his head hanging low, and then turned to Yuffie. She crossed her arms and asked, "What the Hell is going on?"

 **[-oOo-]**

Tifa was annoyed as she checked through the archives, tossing anything that didn't mesh with the dates when Cloud had been experiment on here to the floor. The former Turk pretty much came clean about everything that had happened. So not only did Shinra put up a fake town, with her piano strangely intact given that the things she placed inside of it were still there when she retrieved them for nostalgia's sake, but some of her friends and neighbors hadn't simply been killed—no, they were turned into mindless drones drawn to Sephiroth, who got away _again_!

"How many goddamn books are there?" Barret grunted as he looked at the titles and tossed them over his shoulder and out of the way. There were so many books that they weren't certain they'd be able to get through them all before Shinra arrived.

Stealth wasn't really an option anymore. Not since the battle had ended with a portion of the manor blown-out. But it would take time for Shinra to get there, so they had to go through everything while they could in hopes of fixing Cloud and the others turned by the experiment.

"Did someone drop a materia?" Aerith asked as she held it up. "It's a Destruct Materia."

"It's probably Yuffie's," Crimson said, crouched low and searching the book piles stacked on the floor. "She has more than any of us—wait, where _is_ she?"

They all stopped to look around, only to find the youngest of their number was indeed missing. She'd slipped out without warning. Then Nanaki suddenly started snarling before the door opened and Yuffie walked in again.

She wasn't alone. There was a man with her, with long dark hair and bewitching crimson eyes, dressed in black while donning a red cloak that draped him. They reached for their weapons until Yuffie held up her hands in a placating manner, standing between them and him.

"Whoa, everyone chill out!" She gestured for them to lower their hands. "He's alright."

"Explain," Crimson demanded.

"I was just looking for what the key to the basement that fell out of the vault went to when I ran into these coffins—I wasn't planning on grave-robbing or anything," she quickly added when they gave her a look. "I found him sleeping in one of them and we got to talking. Well, I talked and mentioned that Sephiroth guy we just saw, he asked about Hojo, and here we are."

"She's given me the gist of what has happened," he said, walking around her and to the shelves. He seemed unbothered or unafraid at the collective weapons being pointed at him. Instead he grabbed the sliding ladder and slid it across to a section they hadn't visited yet. "It's been some time, but if Hojo's sorting system hasn't changed then I can help you find the research documents you're looking for."

"What is… no—" Aerith held a palm to her ear and shook her head before addressing him. "Who are you?"

"Vincent Valentine," he introduced himself while picking up a book and glancing through the contents. "I used to be a part of Shinra's Department of Administrative Research assigned here to bodyguard the scientists during the Jenova Project until I opposed experimenting on Sephiroth and his mother, Lucrecia Crescent."

"That's the old title for the Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department—in other words, the Turks," Crimson noted. "Although it's been over a decade since they've used that title."

Cloud, on the other hand, had a different question in mind. "I thought Sephiroth was born from Jenova?"

"That's not entirely wrong, but it's not entirely correct either." He dropped a journal down towards Cloud, who caught it. "Jenova's cells were injected into his fetus while he was inside of Lucrecia's womb. She was a scientist and former assistant of Professor Gast that ended up marrying Hojo and carrying his child."

"Hojo is his Sephiroth's birth father?" Cloud mumbled while holding the journal. "He experimented on his own son?"

"I tried to stop the experiment, but failed." He tilted his head low, obscuring his eyes from view. "It is a sin that I cannot forgive myself for. So I slept in my coffin until she woke me."

"You were having a nightmare," Yuffie said. "Anyway, it sounds like that Hojo quack is the one who's to blame."

"He really is the source of everything bad that's come out of Shinra." Crimson shook her head. "The world would be a better off place without him."

"She's right," Aerith told him. "You tried when others didn't. If you feel so strongly that it's a sin, then you can't just sleep while the one responsible is still causing more problems. "

Vincent didn't respond to that. He merely went back to looking through the books for what they came for. But the words did reach him enough to consider what they were saying, and if he was truly paying penitence by allowing Hojo's evils to continue all this time….

 **[-oOo-]**

Hojo woke to find himself inside of Shinra's Medical Center. It seemed that he had been saved after all. Good.

He looked down to see his arms were twitching of their own accord. Effort on his part seemed to be unable to stop it. The constant electrocution had indeed damaged his body in the long-term, but his mind remained clear.

That was what truly counted. The flesh was weak and fragile. It could be molded, mended, or repaired through science. But his mind was irreplaceable.

The door opened before he could further contemplate on how to go about dealing with his current condition and in stepped Rufus Shinra and his guard hound, which snarled at him. He could vaguely recall the experiment that had been done to increase the aptitude of animals and implant knowledge from materia into them, allowing them to use spells. It must've been one of the surviving ones.

"Good evening, Professor," Rufus said, his tone balanced between forced politeness and mild anger. "Are you lucid enough to understand me?"

"I am," Hojo said.

"Then let me be blunt," Rufus said. "Sephiroth. Cloud Strife. Jenova. The Ancient. You've been involved with all these incidents, which have resulted in the loss of our forces and have been a detriment to the company. You're going to help us solve every last one of them."

"Of course. But I will need compensation in order to do so. After all, it was your father who instructed me to carry out those projects."

"My father was the type who'd be fine with wasting money in hopes of getting you to comply, but I'm not him," Rufus made clear. "This is not a negotiation, one way or another you will help. The only question is whether that will be under duress or not. After I've finished cleaning up the mess you two have left behind and have finished rebuilding the company, then I may consider hiring you again."

 _The arrogance of youth_ , Hojo thought to himself as he ignored the hound still snarling at him. To have to work without the liberties that he enjoyed beforehand was an insult. Alas, he had no choice but to accept it now, lest his current condition become far more unpleasant.

But he would not forget this insult. "Very well. Let us begin."


	37. Chapter 37

**Another Chapter is here**

 **Kazeshuriken: Of Course!**

 **Enjoy!**

The Materia Keeper roared as it came under assault, pale-purple fluid leaking out of a rend in its hide from the heavy sword Cloud possessed. In the end, he had been the one that made the call to leave Nibelheim behind and journey up the mountain. The reactor was the first place to check for Sephiroth and Jenova, as that was where their faithful encounters began—the source of their pain and suffering.

And blocking their path was this thing, another obstacle that needed to be overcome.

Cloud pulled back as the six-legged creature tried to overwhelm him with a flurry of stabs, using the points on its appendages. But it was quick to act, striking before he could take more than a step back. The blade moved to intercept those that could have actually done fatal damage, blocking with a spray of sparks, but the others stabs cut and ripped into his flesh with the same strength that pocked the ground with divots around him.

A salvo of missiles constructs crashed into its flank courtesy of Nanaki, who was being cautious in what spells he used. The leonine warrior had, at one point, used the Beta skill after they'd done significant damage to it beforehand. It absorbed the flames and patched the wounds they'd made as a result, so they wouldn't try that approach again.

It bought him time. He activated the Earth Materia and swung the blade down. The ground beneath them shook and tremored, a shockwave tearing the stone beneath it up and forcing it to stagger backwards. A gentle light swaddled him and patched his wounds, courtesy of Aerith lingering back as far as she could. Revitalized, he jumped towards it anew and he swung his sword down.

A monstrous shriek emerged from its maw as the sword lopped one of the appendages, leaving it down to a mere five instead. Its retaliation, while he put some distance between them again, was cut short as a cannonball of frost and mist slammed into the ground beneath it. Ice blossomed into jagged spikes that penetrated its dense hide, only to shatter when it struggled.

Cloud came to a stop with his blade at the ready as Tifa and Nanaki darted past him and towards the monster. The stingers moved to sweep them away before they could get within striking range, but gunfire rang out from behind Cloud and two rounds knocked the appendages aside with a combination of stopping power and precision. Fist and claws found its face and eyes as empty casing shells fell to the ground, replaced by fresh rounds to the sound of a pained shriek.

"I don't think it will last long," Tifa said as she pulled back alongside Nanaki. Heavy pants left their mouths while the monster trashed around blindly. Then it went still and soothing light encased it. Its wounds began to knit themselves, eyes reforming.

"It's healing itself!" Nanaki prepared to fire another salvo of missile constructs when the atmosphere changed around them, picking up a charge of some kind. Pain struck them all as they lightning battered them from every angle with no escape, their cries of agony drowned by the crackle of the thick charges surging through them. By the time it faded, everything hurt without reservation.

Cloud tried to brush off the burns, grasping his sword as it approached, when the furious light of the Limit Break engulfed Vincent like an angry flame. He howled, his flesh burning away and his skeleton darkening— _warping_ into something else as the lost flesh was replaced and dyed purple by tenebrous threads that burst from some unseen void within. Gone was the man in a mere instant, replaced by a purple beast with sharp claws that could flay flesh from bone, curved horns that could pierce steel, a red mane that flowed down its back until it reached the start of its pointed tail, and yellow eyes that seemed to burn like molten gold.

Its eyes met with the monster that had forced the change. The corded muscles in its legs tensed. Then it was off, cracking the ground beneath its starting point as the air screamed when the claws cut through it in a Berserk Dance.

Healing light encompassed the rest of them as the beast and the monster clashed, slaves to their primal instinct. Cloud frowned at seeing the transformation, and the effect it had on the quiet man in person. Vincent had been forthcoming about what he knew on the changes brought about from the experimentation on him.

A man that should be dead was given the power to turn into monsters and made ageless. It was unnatural to such an extent that Aerith could peg something off about him by presence alone—different from Jenova, but still something that shouldn't have happened.

Their wounds finished healing by the time the Galian Beast lost its battle against the larger opponent and was sent flying by a vicious strike, crashing into the slides. Its form melted and then reformed into Vincent's shape. He was unconscious, though not without horrendously maiming the opposition beforehand.

"Kill it before it heals again!" Cloud ordered as he watched Aerith revive Vincent. It drew the Materia Keeper's attention.

The leonine warrior roared in compliance, Enemy Skill Materia aglow. The dual pyramids of lightning, an inverted one within an upright one, enclosed upon the monster and discharged. The air grew thick with the scent of ozone as it warbled, with tendrils of smoke wavering up and into the air from its own spell turned against it.

" **My turn!** " Tifa slammed her fist together and the furious light of her Limit Break shone brightly around her Powersoul knuckles. Closing the distance with everything she had, Tifa advanced for the kill and brought her empowered fists against her foe.

The first three blows are hard enough to punch it senseless. The somersault hit hard enough to knock its head back and shattered its yellow fangs. The waterkick generated a torrent strong enough to sweep its five remaining legs loose. Then she got underneath it and lifted above her head with herculean strength, suplexing it into the ground with a battle-cry. The impact was hard enough that they felt the ground shake, a cloud of dust and spray of stone kicked up in the process.

Bolstered strength fading, Tifa leapt back as the monster let loose a death knell from the brutal assault. By the time the dust cleared, it had dissipated entirely. All that was left was some kind of ring or bracer that it must've swallowed. She dusted herself off and stretched her arms upwards as Nanaki fetched the accessory.

"Let's move." Cloud placed his sword upon his back again. "We've been delayed long enough."

They continued their trek, relieved at knowing they had a ride waiting for them at the very end of the mountain climb. Dealing with the monster they had just faced would have been easier with everyone present, but they had split their party up in order to accomplish their goals. They couldn't tarry in Nibelheim to go through the records and documents with Shinra very likely to be on the move to that location, and they couldn't ignore that the reactor would be a prime spot for the Reunion between Sephiroth and the rest of the people under Jenova's thrall, but they couldn't leave the Buggy behind just because it couldn't scale the mountain.

Yuffie, surprisingly, came up with the solution. She, Crimson, and Barret would load the Buggy with all of the books and files before getting it to the other side of the mountain base by crossing the sheer-drop inlet between them using Titan. They had received a call stating that it worked, though Crimson seemed a bit distant since that monster they dealt with from the safe.

He still wasn't really sure how Hojo fit it in there, or how it survived for what must've been years of disuse. Then again, Vincent said he had been sleeping in that coffin for decades on end without the need for food or water somehow. Maybe he would talk about it later with her, but for now he devoted himself to the path ahead.

 **[-oOo-]**

The helicopter blades whirled noisily on the landing pad as Elena walked towards it. She had been called in after spending her time observing the Ancient's mother. Thankfully, she only received a light reprimand for slipping up that evening since the older woman had gone back home.

At the front of the helicopter were Rude and the President, with Reno sitting in the backseat. She climbed into it and sat next to him, slipping on her headset. "What's the mission?"

Reno handed her a set of photographs and a file. The photos were all of listening devices, nestled into nooks and crannies. "Rude and I spent the last few days combing the building and vehicles for bugs, since we thought Cissnei's group were a little too informed of our movements. Turns out there were a lot of them, tucked away. We have people still checking in Junon and Costa del Sol, but right now we've got a lead on Sephiroth."

"Are we going after him?"

He nodded. "We need a plane that hasn't been compromised to reach first. Since we're not sure to what extent they've infiltrated us, we're going to borrow a personal craft belonging to the man in file."

She flipped the page and came across the image of an adult male, blond. According to the documentation he was a talented pilot selected for the now-defunct space program, but was notably crass in terms of personality—according to Palmer. His current residence was the town that sprang up around the rocket, a bit of a tourist attraction for the smaller towns and villages on that side of the continent.

Elena went over the information until she felt squished as Palmer sat down next to her and shut the door. The helicopter then started to lift off. Their leader wasn't onboard.

"Where's Tseng?" she asked. "Is he not coming?"

Reno shook his head. "He's still with Scarlet. They wanted to investigate Fort Condor for a Huge Materia but met with a lot of resistance from the squatters on the mountain. He'll report in when they're done with suppressing it."

Her mood fell a bit since that meant he wasn't there with them, but she resolved to do her job well and make him proud. Not that it should be hard. They were just going to borrow a plane…

So why did they need over twenty soldiers and what looked to be a shipment of modified Mighty Grunts?

 **[-oOo-]**

"We're here," Crimson said with a sigh as she parked the Buggy outside of Rocket Town. The search for Sephiroth in Mount Nibel and the reactor there was a dead-end, leaving them to try and find out where he had gone further north. There were a few small villages on this side of the continent, but it was still a stretch to guess where that was. And they were low on supplies since they couldn't restock in Nibelheim without being spotted and reported.

Not that it mattered with how fast they had to leave after she fell into Hojo's trap. That was a mistake on her part. One that she was frankly embarrassed about, since it reinforced what Kunsel had said that night about her judgment being compromised. Someone in her role, where she had to make decisive and clear decisions, could not afford to blunder there.

"Finally!" Yuffie climbed out of the Buggy first and stretched her arms and legs. "It's kind of cramped in there with so many people now."

Crimson didn't deny that, but there was nothing to be done about it. "One group will go shopping for supplies, another will ask the residents if they've seen any sign of Sephiroth, and the other will make Inn reservations. We'll meet up after the sun goes down, to give everyone enough time."

"I call shopping!" Yuffie said.

"Only if two people go with you, otherwise no." She noticed Yuffie pouting at that. "We can't have a repeat of what happened in Costa del Sol and we need a lot of supplies, so someone with muscle has to go as well."

"I'll go keep her in check," Barret said. He had a cloak draped over his shoulder similar to Vincent to cover up his gun-arm, since it was too distinctive. Not many people would be comfortable seeing it alone, but combined with his height and his attitude, it sent up warning flags. "Need to check on Marlene anyway."

"I'll go with you as well. I need to pick up some new clothes," Aerith added as she pointed down to her dress. It had gotten torn somewhere along the way when they descended the mountain.

Nanaki sniffed the air and climbed out next. "I shall search the surrounding lands for any scent matching those in the manor and hunt for myself."

"Take someone with you," Crimson said. "It'll be safer that way and they'll have a PHS so you can remain in contact with us if something comes up."

"…I'll accompany him," Vincent offered. "I have no need for anything in town."

That was probably for the best. Given what Vincent told them, he needed next to nothing in the town and could keep up with Nanaki. If there was anything the both of them couldn't handle out here, which wasn't likely at present unless Shinra marched the remnants of their army to the town, they could flee easy enough and send word.

That left Tifa, Crimson, and Cloud behind to either gather information or set up reservations. Since she needed some time to herself and was momentarily avoiding him, Crimson decided to handle the reservations. "I go get things set up at the Inn. You two look into asking around."

"….Right." Cloud looked as though he had something else he wanted to say, but decided against it. He departed with Tifa, leaving Crimson all alone.

She set out to the Shanghai Inn, the largest one in the town. After she confirmed that they did allow for exotic pets, so that Nanaki didn't have to sleep outside again, she went to the room. Lying down in the bed, she covered her eyes and tried to sort things out—beginning with when she started feeling attracted to Cloud and to what extent.

She started looking after him for two reasons. The first was because he was Zack's friend, someone he died to protect. The second was because all of his misfortune could be traced back to the company, just one of the things she turned a blind eye to under the belief that she was making things better for others until confronted on it, and she wanted to help him.

Then there was Costa del Sol, when she felt comfortable enough to fall asleep on his nice, firm arms. It was purely accidental, but she had admitted to herself that he matched her definition of an ideal body-type. She supposed that would be the source of her physical attraction, but what about emotional?

Cloud wasn't funny and outgoing like Zack was, that much was clear. But Cloud probably knew her better than Zack did in terms of the secrets that they kept. Even with all of the ugly things that she had been a part of, Cloud never once blamed her for the misfortune that befell him because of the company, even when it would be easy to do. That helped make things more bearable, giving her solid footing when she needed it.

His presence was also proof that she was making a difference. It gave her an anchor, a sense of self-worth and a path to follow that she wasn't sure she'd be able to find. At the same time, seeing the rare moments when he was happy made her happy, and she hated seeing him upset. The thought of being injured or humiliated in front of him made her embarrassed when she normally wouldn't mind, meaning that his opinion of her held more weight to her than anyone else.

She was most comfortable around Cloud too. The only other person who she even came that close to being completely at ease around was Aerith, who was probably the best friend she'd ever had to this point. She even told Aerith at the Gold Saucer that she'd be able to do nearly anything as long it was for his sake with no regrets, even if he never knew about it.

Factoring those in… Yeah, too many of her feelings and motivations were tied to him. Of course she would start feeling this way. It was stupid and ruinous considering their circumstances, and she could only curse herself for not being able to tamper down on it sooner.

Crimson resolved to keep it to herself. That would be for the best, all things considered. She sat up in bed when her PHS buzzed in her pocket on vibrate, leaving her to look down at the number. It was Cloud.

She took a deep breath and squashed down her emotions before she answered, in order to avoid giving away anything. There was no reason to bother him with this. "Did you find something out about Sephiroth?"

" _No,_ " he said. " _It's… well, there's talk going on around here that Rufus Shinra is coming_."

That… took a moment to wrap her head around. "Seriously? Why?"

" _Apparently he's on his way to Rocket Town tomorrow_ ," Cloud continued. " _He's scheduled to meet with someone they call the 'Captain' here, according to the locals_."

"Okay, I'll head out and do some digging into that as well," she told him. "Keep looking into Sephiroth and send word to the others. If you hear anything else memorize it for when we all gather again later tonight. "

" _Got it_."

Crimson sighed when he hung up and laid the phone on the bed. If it wasn't one thing it was another. She rubbed the bridge between her eyes and then pulled herself together. There was information to be gathered.


	38. Chapter 38

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken: Thank you! And yes, bring the Buggy is better than leaving it alone.**

 **Enjoy!**

The group assembled later on in one of the rooms they had rented out for the night, exchanging the information that they had gathered about the visiting Shinra representatives. President Rufus himself was coming, if the news spreading around was to be believed. He would be meeting with someone named Cid, a pilot who the inhabitants of the town called the 'Captain' for some reason. It seemed he also doubled as the de facto mayor of the town, if not in name. The question now was what they would do with this information.

"We should finish Shinra off once and for all," Barret suggested. "Cut the head off the snake while it's out."

Cloud lowered his head in thought, a new sword that he had received from a strange old man near the base of the rocket on his back. He said he couldn't refuse the old man's generosity and ended up taking it. It looked Wutai-made, probably imported since the country was right across the sea from the shore further north. "It would stop them from chasing after Aerith, and we could focus on Sephiroth."

"Won't work," Crimson said. She was looking out of the window at the rocket that was in the center of the town, tilting in exhaustion from time and nature. "We kill Rufus Shinra and things will only get harder. That plan will get us killed."

"Is that right?" Barret turned his eyes up to her and sat up straight. "Why don'tcha explain it to me?"

She turned to face him and crossed her arms. "What happened when Sephiroth killed the previous president?"

"His son took over," Tifa noted.

Crimson nodded. "Rufus is just as ruthless as his father from what I know. But he's pragmatic. He's not a good person, but he's the lesser of two evils. If he dies the next in line to get the company will be Heidegger, given his seniority and position."

"You mean the guy in the robot that tried to kill us all?" Yuffie asked.

"And blew up Gongaga to try to kill Cloud and I, helped spearhead the plan to drop the plate of Sector 7, and so on." The amount of blood on his hands was something that would never wash away, only he didn't mind at all. "He believes in overwhelming might above all else, and that any problem can be solved with the excessive force. If he gets in charge, he will dedicate everything left in the company to try and kill us, and he'll do whatever it takes to accomplish it. He'd likely go so far as to take Aerith's mother hostage, or even threaten to lay siege on Cosmo Canyon, or any other place that sheltered us."

"Not before I tear out his throat," Nanaki said with a snarl to that. Having reconnected with his grandfather and mate after several years of torture, he took any threat to them as one to be ended.

"Then we'd have to deal with Scarlet. She's the head of the Weapons Development department, and may or may not be the illegitimate sister of Rufus. I never really looked into the rumors because I couldn't stand her, but she would have no qualms about simply blowing everything up. And unlike Heidegger, she wouldn't be stupid enough to put herself into a position where we could get rid of her if we killed the first two. That means we'd be putting her in charge and giving her a virtually unlimited budget to work with, making whatever happens our responsibility."

She stepped forward and looked Barret square in the eyes to drive the point across. "That's why I don't want killing Rufus to be something we actively strive for, unless absolutely necessary in self-defense. We'll be responsible for putting two complete monsters in charge and giving them a blank check to work with. It'd be another story if those two were taken out ahead of time, which would be doing the world a favor considering the sheer amount of crimes against humanity they've committed and then walked off from. Then either Reeve or Palmer would get the office, and they can be reasoned with."

"What makes you so sure of that?" Tifa asked. "What makes them so different?"

"Palmer was the head of the Space Program." Crimson gestured out the window to the rocket. "This was his project right up until it got its budget cut. He's… well, a coward. If he got into office because we got rid of the others, he'd avoid us like the plague."

He was also friends with President Shinra, which is probably why he kept his job so far. She couldn't imagine that he would be competent when it came to managing the entire company. Chances were that it would fold like a house of cards, which could prove disastrous given that people still relied on the company for their power supply. It was not an ideal solution.

"As for Reeve, he's in charge of Urban Development and is the one who designed the Mako Reactors." She took a moment to give her words some thoughts. "He's probably the best candidate for the seat. He's a very respectable man, has a lot of charity and goodwill projects behind him, and actually considers collateral damage when it comes to an objective. He's likely to take note of what has happened and decide to cut his losses to prevent any further bloodshed."

"Let's get back on-topic," Aerith said, before things could go any further. "Our goal in the first place isn't killing anyone from Shinra, but to stop Sephiroth and Jenova. How is the President coming out here himself connected to this?"

"The most likely answer would be that they are also chasing after Lucrecia's son," Vincent stated. They turned to look at him. "What brought us in this direction was our search for him, upon being told to head north of Nibelheim. It stands to reason they'd be tracking him themselves somehow."

Aerith nodded. "Then we can use that to our advantage if we can figure out where to go. Its late tonight, but we can split into groups to go question this Cid person and his assistant, while another group keeps an eye out for their arrival in the morning. That way no one will be alone if something happens."

"You and Crimson will have to stay out of sight if it does come down to a fight," Cloud added. They both gave him an inquiring look in response. "Remember, their original goal was to capture Aerith. They see her, they'll go after her. And it's likely that they think Crimson is dead from the injury she sustained. We should keep it that way."

Crimson placed a hand on the spot where the bullet had penetrated her. "That…" She sighed. "That makes sense. In that case, Aerith, Lockhart, and I will go question the assistant that lives with Cid before they get here. She might feel more comfortable talking to us in a casual conversation rather than a larger group of men."

"Barret, Vincent, and I can go question the pilot then," Cloud reasoned.

"That leaves Yuffie and Nanaki on lookout." Crimson looked towards the pair. "You are the best-suited for it, but do you have any objections?"

Yuffie shrugged her shoulders. Nanaki shook his head. Good enough.

"Meeting adjourned then." Crimson made for the door. "Everyone get some rest, I'll be at the Buggy checking up on things."

 **[-oOo-]**

Aerith found the night to be warm as she walked to the outskirt of Rocket Town, where the Buggy was parked. The windows of it were tinted one-way to prevent someone from seeing into it from the outside. She lightly knocked on it to gain access, and stepped inside when the door opened.

The former Turk was sitting with one of the research journals in her lap. It held her attention as she asked, "What wrong?"

"You've been avoiding Cloud." It wasn't a question, but a fact.

Crimson didn't deny it as she looked up from the journal. "Has it become that apparent?"

"Cloud and I have noticed." Aerith took a seat next to her and shut the door. "We've been with you the longest and can see how you're pulling away from him. Right now he's probably wondering why."

Crimson groaned softly and rubbed her eyes. "I wanted to avoid that if I could. Damn."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She took a moment to think and then closed the journal. "Kunsel left partially because I lied to him about what happened in Gongaga. His friend attacked us and Cloud killed him. He reasoned that I hid the truth because I may have… romantic inclinations towards Cloud, and it's affecting my judgment."

" _Oh_." That explained it. "And… is it true?"

"I've thought about it, and I can honestly see why and how it happened," Crimson admitted. "The issue is that if I make a call based on that, and it turns out to be a mistake, then it will be my responsibility. I'm afraid that—"

"Your decision will get the rest of us killed." Aerith pursed her lips at the thought. That was the same train of thought she had in regards to her duty. "And you're trying to distance yourself because you believe that it will allow you to make more rational decisions."

"It's not ideal, I know that." She sighed softly and tilted her head back. "But it's the best I could come up with for the time being."

"You should at least talk to him about it."

Crimson picked up the research journal. "It's bad enough that I can barely understand any of this, so I can't help him with his memories. But if I had to put him in a position to know what I'm feeling then he'd be forced to consider it."

Aerith tilted her head slightly at that. "And you're afraid he'd reject you?"

Her red hair swayed gently as she shook her head. "It's not _me_ I'm worried about, Aerith. I can handle rejection. Very few Turks had stable relationships given what we do. The secrets and dirty work don't mix well with long-term commitments outside of the company, so most of us only had casual relationships at best. A long-term relationship with someone is essentially a foreign concept for me."

"Then you're worried about what it will do to him," Aerith realized.

"If I tell him then he'd feel obligated to respond," Crimson reasoned. "No matter how he answers that, the dynamics of everything will change between us and the group. Besides that, I don't want him to agonize over it needlessly when we're still chasing after Sephiroth and Jenova with Shinra behind us."

"True." Aerith had to concede they were all valid points. She changed the topic again, realizing that there was nothing to be gained by lingering on it. "On the subject of Shinra's President, do you really think he'd come alone?"

"The Turks will likely be with him, and some guards to be safe." She crossed her arms in thought. "That's why Lockhart and I will be with you, just in case. They'd have to get past both of us to get to you."

"That's why I want to give you this." Aerith reached into her pocket and held out a materia for her. "It's an Elemental Materia I found at a Mako spring on Mount Nibel."

Crimson grasped the small sphere and looked at it inquisitively. "Why give it to me?"

"That Reno fellow is the most troublesome one of them all besides…" She wanted to say Tseng, but she had a strong feeling they were both hoping that he wouldn't be there. "His electric rod won't be able to disable you if you link it to Ramuh. I also gave Tifa a Barrier Materia that we picked up at the store to be safe."

"That makes sense." Crimson nodded. "Ideally, we'll get some answers without being spotted. All we really need to do is figure out what they need from this Captain and where they're going. It shouldn't come down to a fight."

"Better safe than sorry," Aerith said. "Has anything ever gone as planned so far?"

Crimson's shoulders sagged when she thought about it. "No, I guess not." She pulled out one of her own materia and handed it over to the Cetra. "I'll loan you my Seal Materia too. You should be able to Silence them so that they can't try again."

"Thanks." Materia exchanged, they talked a bit more before heading back to the Inn to get some rest.

 **[-oOo-]**

"I'm so sorry." The deep hazel eyes that were framed behind a pair of thick glasses cast their gaze down at the floor, rather than the three women. "I thought you were from Shinra and I was overeager, I suppose. I'm always making stupid mistakes."

"It's fine. See?" Aerith removed her hand from where she had hit her head. "All better."

Aerith, Tifa, and Crimson had arrived outside of the house of what was supposed to be the Captain and his assistant. They had already confirmed that he was at the rocket, so they felt now was the time to go see her. Unfortunately, in a bout of misplaced zeal, she had eagerly tried to pull them inside and Aerith lost her balance, causing her to bump into the frame of the door. It was an accident and nothing major, but the woman insisted that they come inside while she fussed over a medical kit until Aerith used Cure on herself to heal the slight bruise.

"Are you sure that you don't need something else for it?" she asked. "I have painkillers? Or maybe some tea? He'd probably want me to serve guest tea. It won't take five minutes to make."

"No really, you don't need to go out of your way for us," Aerith told her.

"It's not trouble at all." She turned towards the kitchen. "Just let me get the water boiling. And maybe some snacks?"

Tifa took a step closer to Aerith as the woman filled up her teapot at the sink, and quietly asked, " _Are you okay?_ "

Aerith nodded. " _Compared to everything else we deal with, a bump on the head is hardly an issue. She's just being fussy._ "

"Uh, Miss?" Crimson started, getting straight into the point of their visit. "We heard that someone important was visiting, but we're not from around here and wanted to know what all the excitement was about. Could you tell us?"

"It's Shera," she said. "And everyone is excited because the president of Shinra is coming today to speak with Cid. We're hoping that he's here to talk to about restarting the Space Program."

"You mean with that rocket outside?" Tifa asked. "Does it still work after all of this time?"

"Cid's been working tirelessly to keep it functional. Everyday he's either in the rocket, making sure everything is functional, or with the Tiny Bronco out back. He still has hope that he'll be able to fulfill his dream to be the first astronaut in space."

"He must be a skilled pilot then."

"The best…." Her expression turned somber. "He would have been in space already if not for me. I… I ruined his dream." No sooner than she said that did it seem that all of the energy drained out of her body. It seemed they touched a sensitive topic.

Aerith kept her tone soft. "What happened? If you want to talk about it, I'll listen."

"Do you know why the launch was canceled?"

"I imagine it was due to a system malfunction or something drastic enough that they wouldn't bother funding a second attempt," Crimson said.

Shera shook her head. "No, it was because of me. When they were ready for launch, I was supposed to get off of the ship with the others. But I was still down below, checking the oxygen tanks."

"Why?" Tifa asked. "Were they broken?"

"I'm… meticulous," she admitted. "I have to be thorough when I check something. The tests weren't satisfactory, so I had to keep working on it. I told him to continue the launch while I finished up."

"If he had gone through with it, you would have died from the internal combustion temperature," Crimson pointed out. "You had to have known that."

Shera nodded. "I knew that, but the launch would've been a success. He would have been able to accomplish his dream after working so hard. He would have been happy, and that was all that mattered to me."

She brushed away the tears dotting the corner of her eyes and turned back to the sink. "Cid threw away everything to save me. His dreams went up in flames because of me, and I can never help him regain what he lost that day. The best I can do now is live my life for him…nothing else matters."

Crimson's face was adorned by a sad expression upon hearing that; one that was sympathetic in nature. She turned away as her phone vibrated, walking over to the wall and answering it. Looking between them, Aerith felt she understood the situation as well.

She rose out of her seat and walked over to the auburn-haired woman that invited them into her home, resting a hand on her shoulder. "People who are driven by a goal or a dream can go to such an extent that they can't stop themselves. They'll do what they have to in order to accomplish that, even if it means sacrificing others. He chose you over doing that, so that meant you were worth more to him than his dream."

Crimson closed her phone with an audible sound, grabbing Aerith's attention, and nodded her head towards the door. All traces of sympathy were gone. They were out of time. Aerith prepared to make an excuse for their abrupt departure when there was a knock on the door.

"Shera, are you in there?" said a voice on the other side.

She seemed to perk up in recognition. "Oh, that's Mister Palmer! It looks like they really will be starting the program back up."

As she made for the door, forgetting the others in her excitement, Crimson gestured towards the hallway and mouthed that it was time to leave. The three women quickly headed towards the rear entrance, planning on getting out of sight before they were spotted. No sooner than they made it to the backdoor did it open on its own.

And they came face-to-face with Elena and Reno.


	39. Chapter 39

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken: We shall see in down the road.**

 **Quathis: It takes time to breakthrough a lifetime of training and condition, but she's working on it.**

 **Enjoy!**

Cloud, Barret, and Vincent stood within the crowd that had gathered around as Rufus Shinra discussed matters with Cid, who was being very loud in expressing his displeasure that they'd come to get his plane. The president was flanked by his guards, his hound, and one of the Turks, a larger man with a bald head and a pair of shades that hid his eyes. Cloud and Barrett kept themselves hidden as best they could to avoid drawing eyes, remaining downwind of the guard hound and using hoods to cover their heads and weapons.

The townsfolk seemed to be on the verge of a riot. Cloud hadn't imagined that everyone else would be so angered by the fact that their hopes were being dashed to see the launch, but he supposed it was natural that the people who stayed in the town would also want to see it launched after so long. All those rumors beforehand just got their hopes up for nothing.

Not that the discussion hadn't been without merit. Shinra was indeed tracking down Sephiroth across the ocean. Now the only matter was how they themselves were going to get across it to this supposed Reunion.

A ship would likely take too long. And he doubted they would be able to borrow the plane given how this particular conversation was going. Would it even be big enough to fit all of them inside?

"I'm not letting you borrow shit!" Cid made clear. "You don't get to abandon us and our dreams, only to come back and take what you want. I built that plane from the ground up and I say who uses it. Use one of those tin-cans that you already have."

The crowd seemingly agreed, verbosely telling the president to let the Captain go into space or get lost. The guards Shinra brought with him seemed to be unnerved by being surrounded by angry people. They moved their hands towards their guns slightly in alarm, shifting their stances faintly.

Cloud could tell that it was a pose that was practiced for being ready to open fire in a flash. He supposed that would be from the residual memories he had from when he was part of the program, now that his memories were bleeding through more easily since he came to realize the truth in Nibelheim—both that he did have a past and that he had been injected with Jenova's cells, only barely kept from being a thrall because of Aerith. He pushed the troubling implications of whether or not he would end up a puppet when he heard Rufus starting to speak.

"You only have yourself to blame for not attaining your dream to be an astronaut," he said pointedly, barbed despite the lack of emotion in his tone. "You stopped it by hitting the emergency stop, did you not?"

Cid's mouth pulled back into a scowl. "You expected me to let Shera die in there?"

"If your dream was so important to you, then you should have stopped at nothing to attain it," Rufus claimed. "She failed to evacuate despite having ample warning, so the death would have been the natural consequences of her own actions. Likewise, you made the decision to stop the launch of your own accord, costing the company years of manpower and resources. The natural consequence of that was that the program went defunct along with your so called dreams. You have no one else to blame."

His body tensed like a coil ready to spring forward, barely kept at bay by the man's thinning restraint. "You son of a—"

Rufus cut him off. "This discussion is over. In case you've also forgotten, this land was purchased by Shinra for the sake of the launch. You've been trespassing here the entire time as it is, so I'm within my right to confiscate the plane either way and evict you."

"Like hell you will!" Cid charged the man with his fist cocked backwards, only for a lightning bolt from the hound to snap off and hit him square in the chest. A shimmering field followed, swaddling the president as a safeguard while the big man proceeded to move in and detain Cid. The guards trained their guns on the crowd when they reached their boiling point as well, a clear warning they would shoot at the first sign of trouble.

" _It's a set-up_ ," Barrett whispered in a harsh voice. He was cradling his gun-arm with his other hand, or restraining himself from raising it to take a shot. " _They're gonna use this as an excuse to do whatever they want. We gotta act_."

"It's a powder keg waiting to go off," Vincent noted. "If you make a commotion or start to fire then they'll open fire on the crowd. Our best bet is to secure the plane ourselves."

"Crimson should be inside," Cloud said. "We'll call her and—"

Lightning burst from the rear of the house in a deafening roar, splinters raining down from where it had blown out the backside. Cloud recognized it as one of Crimson's spells. It was ill-timed as it startled the crowd and the guards, leading to a chaotic mess as they pulled their triggers and screams started.

Cloud unslung the sword and took up a defensive posture before any more bodies were dropped, using his tempered body and sword to withstand the gunfire. Vincent quickly scored two headshots on the guards to put an end to it, while Barret looked around at the dead and fleeing. Rage filled him as he aimed his gun-arm square at Rufus, gathering the fiery light of a Limit Break at the tip, and fired off a massive ball of flames.

It ruptured with an ear-deafening explosion, smoke and dust thrown up in the process. The smoke thinned to reveal that the tall Turk had used his body as a shield. The sheen of two different barriers wrapping around his frame as the smoke trailed off it, leaving his suit scorched at best as Rufus reached into his coat and pressed something inside.

"Sir, retreat," Rude said. "I'll cover your escape."

Rufus nodded and then moved to retreat, Dark Nation at his side. Barret aimed the gun-arm at him again and moved to open fire when Rude proved to be surprisingly fast as he closed the distance, jumping up in the air and then coming back down to slam his fist into the ground. It sent a shock of energy through the ground towards Barret and exploded the ground beneath his feet.

Vincent fired twice at the man's head only for the bullets to ping off the barrier. It was barely enough to make his head jerk back before he slammed into the undead gunner like a rushing train with his fist. The impact sent him to the ground as well.

Cloud moved in with a strong swing of the sword. The blade smacked into the barrier and his arms held in a defensive pose, causing him to slide backwards and then take on a boxer's stance. Cloud tightened the grip on his sword as the other two got back onto their feet, forcibly keeping his attention on the man in front of him rather than the sounds of battle reaching his ears behind the house.

 **[-oOo-]**

The sound of abrupt gunfire and screams reflexively drew Crimson's attention towards it, away from Reno. Things had exploded into combat the moment that they met on the way out. These two had obviously come to kidnap the woman inside the house to use as a leveraging chip against the pilot or to take something from her. Their priorities changed the moment their eyes met.

Crimson decided to simply hit them with a Bolt 3 spell out of the gate, no questions and no hesitation after her last encounter with the Turks ended with a bullet tearing through her. But Reno pushed the new girl out of the way as soon as he saw the streamers forming, and apparently his suit was insulated to be resistant to electricity—probably in case he had a mishap with his electro-mag rod. He got back up and Crimson went after him while Tifa handled the new girl and Aerith stayed behind to support and remain out of their grasp.

The brief opening was all it took for Reno to bring the hand holding his weapon of choice around. Seeing the movement in her peripheral vision instinctively brought her own up to guard, Rekka at the ready to block the long shaft of the nightstick. It fell short as he twisted his wrist to slam the butt-end into her shoulder, dislocating it with a pop.

She suppressed the pained sound in her throat as her weapon slipped from slackened grasp. Crimson immediately brought her other elbow up to land a blow square into his nose, staggering him long enough for her to then throw a kick that caught him in the stomach. It brought her breathing room as a soothing sensation entered her body, no doubt Aerith working her magic, snapping the dislocated shoulder back into place.

Reno blinked rapidly while touching his nose with his free hand. It wasn't broken. "I see you're back in form despite Costa del Sol."

She picked her weapon back up and stood at the ready as an ethereal clock sudden sprung into existence at her feet, courtesy of Aerith after her last trip to the store for a Time Materia. The hands spun faster and faster, and Crimson felt herself very existence hastening as well as the light encompassed her. She rocketed towards him and unleashed a flurry of stabs.

Reno shifted his stance and then used both hands on the nightstick, a tight grip on the handle with his dominant hand and a looser grip near the top with his weaker hand. He needed it to both react and block the attacks Crimson sent his way when she closed the distance, using the section between them. It was only an ill-timed Quake spell that gave him an opening, throwing her off her guard when the ground shook beneath her feet.

He promptly exploited it by thrusting the nightstick in his horizontal grasp forward. It hit her in the throat, and Reno drove them both to the ground in an attempt to suffocate her with it by crushing her windpipe. Crimson pushed against it as she hit the ground and stopped the fall from doing just that, but she was pinned down.

" **Mog**!" Aerith called from her position near the house. A flash of feathers followed as the summoning rushed forward, leaving Reno to abandon the kill attempt in order to activate his Barrier Materia. It was all that saved him from having his chest caved in as the Chocobo's kick hit hard enough that he took a brief trip in the air before springing back to his feet.

Crimson expended the remaining Haste spell closing the gap between them again, a vengeful look in her eyes. She activated the Destruct Materia and the barrier shattered like glass as she swung the point of her Rekka. It found its way past his uniform and shirt, but Sense told her it was too shallow to be fatal and so she thrust it forward to finish him.

He brought his nightstick forward to intercept the Rekka before it could run him through the heart. Then he then fired a Turk Light straight into her unprotected abdomen. It knocked her away as the Haste worse off, leaving him to fall onto his knees while holding a hand to the bleeding wound.

Elena tumbled through the air and then landed with a yelp next to him, looking worse for the wear as long strands of raven-black hair were in her grasp, while Tifa skidded to a stop next to Crimson. She looked _pissed_ , and the Fire Materia that she had on her bangle was lit as she cradled a fireball in her hand. She chambered to throw it at them when a high-pitched man's voice from behind stopped her.

"That's enough!" They all turned towards the source to see that Aerith had her hands up in surrender along with Shera. Palmer was holding a mako-gun to them from behind, no doubt having forced her to dismiss her summoning before it could act.

"Mister Palmer, what are you doing?" Shera asked cautiously as Elena held a hand out towards Reno and one of her materia glowed softly. It was a Restore Materia, judging from the healing spell being used. It knitted close his wound before he could bleed out, making the effort from before a moot point.

"Sorry about this, but I have to get the plane or my cushy job is on the line," he said somewhat remorsefully, the gun shaking in his hand as he alternated between the two. Crimson noted that it was sloppy holding it that close and loosely. If it had been anyone else there other than those two, they would have disarmed him. He addressed Tifa and Crimson again. "Drop your weapons or I'll shoot them."

"It's a bluff," Crimson said. The only reason she hadn't neutralized him while she had Sense active was because the coward was hiding directly between the two women. Any attack she made would hit them as well.

"I'll really do it," he said. "I don't want to but—"

"He won't kill Aerith because she's too valuable, and the fact that he needs a mako-gun means he doesn't know how to handle a materia properly to use an Escape Materia," Crimson said, keeping her emotion out of her voice as she cast Tifa a side-glance. "If he shoots the other one, you cover my front while I bury my Rekka into his heart."

Everyone could hear him gulp. He was cowardly enough to pull his gun on a defenseless woman and a valuable target for his job. But he was also too much of a coward to pull the trigger when it means his guaranteed death. And since it sounded like they were still fighting in the front, he couldn't go that way either.

"N-n-now, let's not be hasty here…" He abruptly trailed off into a yawn and started slouching backwards as the Seal Materia that Crimson loaned Aerith glowed. The last of the Cetra took that as cue to turn around and push him, making him hit the ground with a thud.

With that distraction taken care of, Crimson turned to see that the Elena girl had taken the chance to pull the pin on a canister and then tossed it their way. She immediately brought her hand up and fired off a Bolt spell before it could reach them, causing it to detonate early. The veil of white smoke obscured their view.

Tifa cast a Fire 2 spell where they had been and let the heat force the air and smoke upwards and out of the way. They were gone, no signs of burned clothing or flesh to show they'd been caught in the blast. Damn. "Did they give up on what they came for?"

"Maybe…." Crimson wasn't too sure and was on high-alert when Nanaki and Yuffie finally arrived, the latter riding on the back of the former. They were both panting, and looked like they had been through something. "What happened?"

" _Ma… machines_ ," Yuffie said, panting. "We spotted a truck holding machines like from Costa del Sol! We tried to get them all, but some of them broke away. If we're going to go, we need to go—"

" **Down!** " Nanaki snarled as he brought forth missile constructs and fired them forward in the distance. A hail of gunfire intercepted them and shot them down. It came from what looked to be Mighty Grunts on treads, firing as they continued their approach.

Tifa used her Ice Materia and raised a wall of ice to block the hail of gunfire as Shera screamed and Crimson focused on her own Summoning Materia. A massive jolt surged through her mind and threatened to sap her consciousness as the Elder Justiciar of Lightning was born anew. "Ramuh, hold them off!"

"Very well, child." The elderly summoning rose in the air and stuck his staff out. Lightning surged from the tip and slammed into one of them, exploding it from the inside out. They altered their approach in light of that and began to change tactics, alternating between shooting the group and the summoning.

Crimson then turned to the woman they were originally after. "We need to get the plane in the air before they get it."

"Uh, right…." Shera reached into her pocket, feeling for something there, only to look surprised. "The key is missing!"

"There!" Aerith pointed her staff towards the plane as Palmer, who must've woken when the shooting started and moved while they were distracted, got the cockpit open and had started the plane up to take off.

"I got this!" Yuffie jumped off of Nanaki and ran towards the plane. Palmer panicked as he saw her approaching and fired the mako-gun, which sent a stream of fire towards her. She broke off to the side and then threw her Wind Slash straight into the gun from the side, piercing it with the sharpened steel to stop him from using it.

"Eeep!" Palmer had about a second to yelp before Yuffie leapt up and kicked him off the top of the plane, sending the fat man tumbling down to the ground. He groaned as he looked up and saw Nanaki in front of him. The leonine warrior bared his fangs at him, and Palmer proved that he was surprisingly fast for a rotund individual.

Crimson climbed into the plane and took the pilot seat while Nanaki helped Aerith on-board. She ignored the crack of thunder as her personal summoning smited another one of the machines, instead focusing on the fact that the layout of the plane wasn't familiar. "I can't fly this!"

"If you don't at least move it then eventually they'll hit it!" Tifa yelled as she raised another ice wall to stop them from shooting at the plane and everyone on it.

"They'll shoot us down in the air either way if someone doesn't hold off their fire." Crimson pointed out as the assistant climbed in, nervously taking a seat next to Aerith. "The summonings will only work so far from the summoners, Lockhart!"

"Then give me the keys to the Buggy!" she shot back. "Red and I can hold the line with the others and then regroup later on!"

The former Turk tossed the keys down to Nanaki and then turned her head towards Shera. "How do you fly this thing?"

"Cid built it himself," the woman said, keeping her head down as the gunfire and thunder continued. "Only he can fly it, but I think he presses the blue button to release the brakes and then pushes the lever forward to move it."

She pressed what she hoped was the right button. Something went 'click' and the plane jostled at bit. She took a deep breath and then pushed the lever.

The plane started rolling forward….


	40. Chapter 40

**Another Chapter is here!**

 **Quathis: Lol**

 **Kameshuriken: True true!**

 **Enjoy!**

There were a handful of reasons why someone would bring armed soldiers to a relatively peaceful place like this—much less powered-armors like those Cloud had demolished in Costa del Sol. That meant one of two things:

The first was that they'd intended to lay siege to the town from the beginning, which he found unlikely. It was too small a town to necessitate that. The second was that they'd been expected, which was far more likely given that the spies in Nibelheim could have informed them of where the group was heading. In a worst case scenario, Hojo would probably be awake as well.

Cloud decided to file that away for later as the modified Mighty Grunts rolled through the town towards them, using a hail of gunfire to buffet the area they were in. The earlier Quake spell that Cloud had used upturned enough of the ground to make it impossible for them to get too close, while the group took cover where they could.

Barret returned fire with his gun-arm, opting for a barrage that hammered at the armor-plating until it hit something critical by chance. Vincent, on the other hand, used more precise shots with his gun to disable them. Or a Bolt spell from the Thunder Materia he had borrowed to short them out. Yuffie had been surprisingly _less_ stingy than usual when it came to loaning some of her materia to him.

After enough damage had been done to the suits, their pilots would emerge on what looked to be rollerblades. Though they were far quicker, they didn't have that thick armor protecting them. They were much easier to deal with as a result.

" _Bastards_ ," Cloud heard the pilot mutter under his breath during a break in the exchange of gunfire. He was crouching down by a dead man, killed during the initial volley of gunfire from the two soldiers. The somber look on his face as he closed the man's eyes lasted until the sound of an engine reached their ears.

They turned to see a plane rolling out of the backyard. Crimson was at the helm, trying to press buttons on it with a troubled expression, while Aerith was yelling something else towards him. It took a second before Cloud's ears caught what was being said over the whirling of the propeller blades.

He turned to Cid and said, "They can't fly it."

"Of course they can't!" Cid rose to his feet. "I designed it so that only I could!"

The gunfire started again, only the plane was the target this time. Aerith reflexively ducked down as one of the shots pinged loudly off the exterior near her, revealing the other passengers. Cloud didn't recognize the woman next to Yuffie, but Cid did.

 **"Shera!"** He moved to leave their cover, only for a spray of dirt to emerge near his feet and force him to pull back. It looked like they still had a few guns trained on them, just in case they left their cover to help the others. He went back to yelling impotently as they kept shooting. **"WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN THERE?"**

Cloud's grip on the sword tightened. If they kept concentrating fire on the plane, it was only a matter of time before they managed to break through the bullet-resistant glass. He was about to take his chances and charge out, drawing their fire from the plane, when the air tingled with electricity.

Nanaki made his presence known with a roar, entrapping one of the still active Mighty Grunts in the Trine spell at the same time. The discharge of electricity was enough to both destroy the unit utterly and shock the nearby gunmen with the bleed off, giving everyone a brief respite. The leonine warrior then landed behind them.

"We are splitting up," he said. "One group will take the plane and keep it away from Shinra. The other will hold the line here and then use the Buggy to flee. I will help buy time."

"I'll provide cover as well," Vincent said as he pulled the trigger twice on his gun. Both shots caught one of the soldiers in the center of mass, putting him down. "Escort the pilot to the plane before they compose themselves enough to fire at it again."

"Right." He turned to Cid, who spat to the side and then nodded. Then they both broke from cover, Cloud limiting his pace to match the man's with the Cover Materia aglow. His sword managed to block the shots that came their way as they ran towards the moving plane.

Crimson opened the cockpit up so that they could enter, keeping her head down with the others as Cid and Cloud climbed inside. The soldiers opened fire then and Cloud ended up feeling the brisk sting of several rounds slamming against his tempered skin. He shielded the others until the cockpit sealed itself again and then slumped down against the wall.

"Are you okay?" Crimson asked as the bullets continued to smash into the thick and thankfully reinforced glass. She crouched down and pulled his shirt up to see that small bruises were forming, but none broke the skin. "Aerith—"

"There's no time." Looking out the window, he spied one soldier in particular bringing out a shoulder-mounted rocket-launcher and felt slightly worried about what it would do if it hit the plane with them inside. "We need to get airborne now!"

Cid started pulling back on the controls, causing the plane to begin lifting off. The soldier took aim but, before he could pull the trigger, a large fireball from Nanaki smashed into him. The rocket prematurely detonated as a result, taking care of that particular issue.

The constant pinging of bullets hitting the exterior lessened as they rose higher into the air. It seemed like they would get out alright with every passing second… right up until a thunderous explosion detonated close to the plane, displacing the air with enough force that they felt the shockwave reverberate in their bones.

"Sons of bitches are trying to destroy my plane!" Cid swore as the Tiny Bronco turbulently trembled. He pivoted the plane towards the shoreline while climbing higher, but a rocket that exploded too close for comfort damaged the propellers. He gritted his teeth and tried to level it. "C'mon! Come on!"

Cloud grabbed the controls and _pulled_ , using his mako-enhanced strength to help him even it out. The plane ended up skimming the surface of the water with the landing gear, leaving a wake that eclipsed the plane itself until they slowly came to a stop. Cloud huffed as he released the controls.

Cid's mouth curled into a frown as he exhaled thickly through his nose. Then he looked over his shoulder to his assistant. "Are you still breathing?"

Shera's hair had become somewhat disheveled from the constant rocking. Her glasses were missing from her face as well, knocked loose on landing. Even so, she nodded her head cautiously. "I believe I am."

"Then tell me what the Hell is goin' on!" he demanded.

"I'm not entirely sure how to explain it properly…" She trailed off as Aerith picked her glasses off the floor of the plane, only to show that they were broken. "Everything happened so fast."

Crimson spoke for her instead. "Rufus Shinra sent men inside to kidnap her and take the plane while you were out in front. We defended her until Palmer put a gun to her head and stole the keys to start it up. We scared him off, and then had to take it when Shinra decided to resort to military force."

Cid took a few seconds to digest that before going on a long-winded rant about how he was going to 'bleed the fat son of a bitch like a stuck pig and string up the arrogant bastard that he squealed to' as he climbed out to inspect the plane. Aerith then tended to the bruises on Cloud's back from the few bullets that connected, Yuffie huddled over and suffered from motion sickness, and Crimson talked on the phone.

"That was Lockhart," she said, after hanging up. "They got away, but Shinra is going to be after them while we're split apart. We need to regroup soon."

"My Bronco won't be able to fly like this!" Cid said, slamming his fist against the broken wing. "I need tools, spare parts—all of that to fix it. But goin' back to Rocket Town ain't an option."

"Can we use it as a boat?" Cloud asked.

"It can't cross more than shallow waters in this condition." Cid pulled out his box of cigarettes and fumbled with a lighter he had stashed inside of it. The nicotine would probably help calm his nerves. "Damn it, now I don't have space and I don't have the skies. What's the point anymore?"

" _Ugh_ …I might…be able to help," Yuffie said after a moment. They all turned to her as she sat up. "I can get you everything you need to get it working again if you get us to Wutai. In exchange, let us use the plane to chase after those guys."

"And how's that gonna work?" he asked. "You got a fat pouch full of Gil in there, because I sure don't."

"I'm the daughter of the leader of Wutai, Godo Kisaragi." She turned to Crimson and gave her a challenging look. "If you don't believe me, ask your friend with the shades. He'll back me up on that, but it's true. That means I can get everything we need to get the plane fixed if we head there."

" _… and he complains about me keeping secrets_ ," Crimson mumbled before opening her phone and turning to Cid. "I need to call Kunsel to see if he can help the others while we can't, but if we get you what you need to fix it, will you loan us the plane?"

"Fine," he said. "If you get my Bronco fixed, I'll fly you wherever you want to go."

Yuffie pointed ahead. "Then take us to the shore that way. We'll have to walk a long way north, but we should be able to get a larger ship to carry the plane there once everything is settled."

 **[-oOo-]**

Tifa pressed down on the gas pedal as the Buggy trembled, having narrowly avoided another rocket detonation. The bullet-proof hull gave them a respite from the constant need to worry over the gunfire, no doubt a safety precaution taken by the owner since the wealthy had many enemies after all. But rockets were another story entirely.

Shinra started calling in attack choppers sometime after dawn. Their options for ranged combat were severely hamstrung at this point, given they had exhausted their mental power and summonings over the course of the night spent on the run. Between the aerial assault and the units that chased after them, it would only be a matter of time before they were cornered.

That was when there was a flare in the distance and something rocketed towards them, parting the air as it crossed the distance. Upon getting closer, they could make out a vague shape and… a song. It was a melodious trill that played lightly on the ears as a bird of massive proportions circled in the air above them, scattering embers like falling snow.

The reddish, luminous motes drifted down from above harmlessly until they made contact with some of the helicopters that had been maneuvering to get ahead of the Buggy. Then the motes suddenly ruptured into a chain of explosions, until a curtain of fire obscured the cloudless sky above them.

As the helicopters dropped out of the sky and shattered upon the earth, the ground units turned their automatic gunfire upon the avian. It sharply dove to avoid, revealing a rider wearing a tanned cloak and a bag over his shoulder. The former Second-class SOLDIER clung to the crown of the creature, his mouth moving as he pointed towards the enemy. Tifa was too far away to hear it, but whatever it was caused the massive bird to abruptly combust.

Both its outer feathers, which were the color of molten gold and blazing red, as well as the inner feathers, which spanned the spectrum of the rainbow, suddenly swelled into a roaring, aureate blaze. Then the phoenix let loose a guttural cry as it pulled into a sharp, straight streak that passed over the ground forces. Everything caught within its golden flames, barring the rider, were reduced to embers and scattered by the hot wind left in its wake.

The phoenix returned to its normal state when nothing of Shinra's forces remained and landed in front of the Buggy. It lowered its body, allowing its rider to dismount. The hatch of the Buggy opened to follow suit, allowing the group to step out of it for the first time in hours without worrying about being shot at.

"Your timing was impeccable," Nanaki stated. "You have our gratitude."

"You're lucky Crimson called when she did," he said, scratching under the phoenix's beak. It actually trilled for a moment. "I was heading to Corel from Costa del Sol, so all Phoenix here had to do was carry me over the mountain range."

Tifa reached out to touch it. Phoenix leaned into it. "Is it a summoning?"

He nodded. "I was at Fort Condor not too long, helping the people there defend an endangered condor that was using the reactor as an incubator for its egg when Shinra started laying siege to it. When the egg hatched, the adult condor suddenly burst into flames and became the Summoning Materia."

Her eyes narrowed. "Why were they laying siege to it in the first place?"

"They've been looking into something called Huge Materia on Scarlet's orders, supposedly to make a powerful weapon. Given the circumstances, I felt it was best to take it out of their hands for the moment and have been tracking their movements to get to them first." He pulled off the bag slung over his shoulder, revealing a very large and rough materia inside of it. "So far I managed to get this one, but they've already claimed one as well. They're moving onto the next one in Corel."

Barret stepped forward at hearing that. He looked upset. "Say that again about Shinra and Corel?"

 **[-oOo-]**

"Kunsel has gotten to the others," Crimson said as she hung up the phone. She and the others had relocated to Wutai over the course of the night, and Yuffie had allowed them to use her place freely while she went to talk to her father at his home. "They're safe."

"Thank goodness," Aerith said as she sat down at a table with Shera, who was in the process of sipping tea. "I had been worried about leaving them behind."

"That's one problem taken care of then," Cloud said, leaning against the wall and looking towards the ceiling. "That just leaves the plane. I wonder what's taking Yuffie so long. She's been gone for—"

The words died as the front door burst open and a pony-tailed young man entered the room. His chest was rising and falling beneath his white, frog-buttoned tang shirt as he panted, and sweat covered his face while his eyes spanned the room. Before anyone could say anything, he kneeled before them and touched his head to the ground, taking a pose of supplication.

"Please, help Yuffie!" he begged. "She's in trouble!"

The group shared a look of confusion before Crimson spoke up. "You're going to need to explain what you mean, starting with who you are."

"My name is Yuri," he said as he raised his head and looked towards her. "I am a friend of Yuffie's. When word that she had returned reached my ears, I went to her father's place to see her. They were having an argument like always, only this time it was more heated than usual. In the end, he dragged her off to the pagoda for the Five Gods to pass judgment on her."

"What were they arguing about?" Cloud asked.

"You've seen how our home has become, yes?" he asked. "All those gaudy signs and decorations—Wutai has become tourist trap now compared to how the village used to be since we lost the war, and many of our people have left because they can't stand seeing our culture being treaded upon. "

"That would explain the influx of people in Rocket Town a couple of years ago," Shera said. "What was the war about exactly?"

"There's a rich source of Mako running beneath the land, especially further to the south," Crimson said, looking to the last of the Cetra. "I guess that means the Lifestream flows closely to the surface there?"

"It does," Aerith confirmed. "I can feel it even from here. There's a lot of resentful spirits as well, but they aren't remotely as close to manifesting as they did in Cosmo Canyon."

"We'll keep that in mind." Crimson then turned back to Shera. "As I was saying, the President wanted to tap it and the people here vehemently resisted. They didn't want him to build a reactor under the belief that it would exploit the land until it was no different than how Midgar is. Even now, the village and land around it is a lot more fertile than most of the other places we've visited."

Yuri gave a tight nod at that. "That's why our people fought to defend our land under the belief that the great Leviathan watched over us, and that the village was protected by Da-chao, the Water God, and the Five Mighty Gods. But we lost, and our faith was shaken. That was when Yuffie developed an abnormally strong attachment to the idea of Materia, finding it more tangible than mere faith, and desired to travel the world and collect them to return us to our former glory."

 _I never pictured her having such a strong motivation for stealing, despite all the problems it causes,_ Crimson mused to herself. _Then again, I'd be an even worse hypocrite given what I've done for my own beliefs._

"She asked me to come with her… but I couldn't," the boy continued, a noticeable hitch in his voice. "My mother is ill and I am the only one who can look after her. She told me that she understood and promised to bring back a materia that could heal her. Then she left on a small boat during the night, when no one was there."

"That was reckless," Crimson noted factually. "These seas are pretty rough to navigate and are filled with monsters. Considering that she apparently gets motion-sickness now, it's a miracle she even washed up on the shore of Junon at all if she went that far alone."

His fists balled tightly upon hearing that and he tilted his head downwards, so that they couldn't see his eyes. "It's not the first time that I abandoned her to whatever fate had in store, and it shames me deeply. Even now, after she's returned, I couldn't do anything to help her as her father dragged her to the Pagoda of the Five Mighty Gods."

He looked to them again with eyes that were nearly glistening with tears. "I lack the strength and courage to do anything, so I've come to ask for the help of her traveling companions. She spoke highly of your abilities in her argument with her father. The Five Mighty Gods respect strength. If you ask for them to pardon her, they may listen."

Crimson sighed to herself, before turning to Cid and Shera. "Can you two wait here while we sort this out?"

"Screw that," the pilot said pointedly. "I'm not about to leave getting my plane up and running to you alone. Not while I sit around on my ass and sip on tea."

"Suit yourself then." She turned to the boy again. "Take us to where she's being held."


	41. Chapter 41

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Quathis: Thank you! As for Kunsel cover situation...we will see.**

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 **Enjoy!**

"You're all just cowards!" was the first thing the group heard as they opened the doors of the pagoda. Crimson and the others had left their weapons behind to avoid appearing outright hostile. Not that they couldn't fight their way out with the materia they had with them, but it was never a good idea to meet with the village's leader unannounced _and_ armed.

Peeking inside, they found Yuffie standing up and pointing at a man with a stern look upon his face. There were four others there as well, two on each side of him. The collective made note of their presence, as did the kunoichi.

"Who are you?" asked the man that Yuffie had been pointing at. He was a middle-aged man that was adorned in an elegant silken kimono that lacked sleeves, paving the way for the white long shirt beneath it and sandals on his feet. His long black hair was slicked back, with broad streaks of white running horizontally from his ears, and his thick eyebrows, moustache, and beard were all pointed.

Crimson inclined her head towards Yuffie. "We're her traveling companions." She took note of his facial features matching hers and his position among the gathered. "Should I presume you're her father, Godo Kisaragi?"

He drew himself upwards as he stood, straightening his back and crossing his arms. "So you're the ones who have been accompanying this reckless child?" His studious gaze roamed over the group, lingering on Cloud's eyes for a prolonged moment. Then firm steel lined his voice. "I'll have to ask you to leave the village. You won't find sanctuary here from Shinra."

Yuffie's brows drew in, forming an angry crease as she set her hands on her hips. "You can quit acting tough! These guys have dealt with far scarier things than a washed-up old coot that sleeps in his bed every day."

"Miss Yuffie, you must mind your tone," said the older man in green robes, slowly rising to his feet. "Your father is our leader and must be addressed as such."

The young girl in yellow sighed as Yuffie crossed her arms and huffed. "Save your breath, Gorky," she told the man. "They're wasted on an immature brat like her."

Yuffie wheeled around and glared daggers at her. "What'd you say!?"

"You're an immature brat," she repeated in the same tone as before. "You've been doing nothing but making demands and yelling since you've gotten here. And when you don't get your way, you throw a temper like a cheeky brat."

"I don't want to hear that from you, Shake!" Yuffie shot back. "You just sit around here cooped up in the tower while the rest of the village is degrading into a shell of what it used to be!"

"The condition of the village may not be ideal," said the woman of the collective of five, her dark hair done up in a ponytail and bangs. "But, all things considered, our homeland is still intact compared most of the other places that have been in altercations with Shinra. Even if it meant we had to lessen ourselves and our village, we are whole."

"If you know that something is wrong then you should do something about it instead of accepting it for what it is!" Yuffie argued, pointing towards her group. "At least they're doing something! They didn't lie down and die when Shinra came after them!"

"Silence!" Godo said, having heard enough. The others stopped and Yuffie turned back to face him. "Your ambition is noted. But it is meaningless without both the strength to back it and wisdom to guide it. You speak of change and our failings, but you have yet to understand the ramifications that follow in the wake of your actions. You have no right to talk until you do."

The kunoichi bristled at that. "Everything I've done is for the sake of strengthening Wutai!"

"How is bringing an army to our doorstep part of that process?" He inclined his head towards Crimson's group. "I listened to you at home, boasting of your actions and how proud you claim to be. Yet, all I hear is how you are so easily willing to throw away the peace that we have now for the sake of trying to attain former glory."

"Peace that makes us the joke of the rest of the world!" Yuffie pointed out. "You raised me to be a warrior, to fight for the glory and pride of our country. Then you lose the war and turn into someone that allows their homeland to be made into a mockery of what it was! You shame the Da-chao and Leviathan!"

"That's enough." To her surprise, it was Crimson that spoke. "This isn't going to do anything but make things worse."

"But—" Her words died as Crimson held her hand out to quiet her.

"You're angry," she said calmly. "Take a moment to cool down. Let me speak until then."

Yuffie stared at her long and hard. Then she huffed and spun on the soles of her feet to face away from them all, not even sparing them a look. "Do whatever you want."

Crimson stepped forward until she was within arm's reach of the five and clasped her hands together. "I understand where all of you are coming from. There was a war. People died on both sides, yours and those conscripted from around the world. You had to make concessions to bring it to an end as cleanly as you did, make yourself lesser in order to be seen as less of a threat. That was why you banned the use of materia, wasn't it?"

The question was met with silence from the five, but Crimson expected as much as she looked Godo straight into the eyes. "As the leader and council of your home, you had to make tough decisions that not everyone would appreciate or even understand. You did that knowing how others would perceive you—including your own daughter—but you had to put the benefit of the majority over everything else, even your own desires and beliefs. That's why I won't appeal to your honor or anything like that, but your sense of pragmatism."

Godo stroked his beard in thought for a moment. Then he gestured for her to continue.

"We're currently pursuing Sephiroth, whom you should be aware of given his involvement in the Wutai War." She paused, giving them a moment to think on that before she went on. "Rumors of his death have been exaggerated and covered up by Shinra, but he's very much alive and active. Some time ago, he managed to cut through the majority of Shinra's main headquarters and their forces. If you don't believe me, ask Yuffie. She ran into him twice along our journey."

Godo sucked in a sharp breath and then turned to her. "Is this true?"

Yuffie looked over her shoulder and gave a slight nod. "Long silvery hair, big sword that looks like it came from here."

"We're heading after him because we have reason to believe he poses a legitimate threat to the Planet, but our plane can no longer cross deep water until it gets repaired. If I recall correctly, the number of captured military aircrafts that were reclaimed by Shinra after the war doesn't match the number that went missing. We can use parts from those to repair it."

"Let's presume that we do have such things," he said in a cautious tone. "You cannot expect us to simply help you, given the animosity Shinra holds towards you."

"You don't want to risk reprisal, but the longer we stay, the sooner they show up on your doorstep—one way or another. And, given your daughter's involvement to this point, they won't overlook it. At this point, the most prudent thing to do would be to give us what we need to leave. That way their attention will be somewhere else."

"Or we can simply force you from the village," Godo pointed out. "Unless you believe yourself to be above that?"

"To put it bluntly, if conflict breaks out no one wins," she said calmly. "We can't let ourselves be slowed down more than necessary. And, since we don't know exactly how to gauge your strength, we won't be able to hold back if you come at us. Chances are at least half of us would die in the exchange, if not more. Such a loss is unacceptable for both parties, but more so for you since you've demilitarized to the extent that you're also the sole policing body of your country."

"I fear you overestimate your strength," spoke Staniv, the last of the five. "We are the Five Mighty Gods for a reason. Many have challenged us, yet all have fallen."

"Then prove it," Yuffie said, turning back towards them and walking right up to her father. "I'll fight on their behalf. If I beat all of you, then you'll grow spines and help us get the plane back up and running."

"…Very well," Godo decided. "But, should you lose, not only will your companions depart from this country, but you will never leave the village again."

 **[-oOo-]**

Standing on the outside of the pagoda, Yuffie looked down to the ground as the doors shut. That hadn't gone at all like she had planned, but it was something. And they had two hours to work out how she could beat all of the Five Mighty Gods… by herself.

Okay, not her best plan. If she failed… well, honestly, she could escape the village if she really wanted to and steal another boat. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that the group would be forced to leave after she brought them here on the promise that she could do something.

That… bothered her a lot more than she expected. She looked up to the others and cleared her throat. "I'm… sorry that it came to this. I thought I could convince him otherwise, but…."

"It's fine," Crimson said. Her tone was… gentler than Yuffie expected. "For now, we need to get you ready."

Yuffie nodded and gathered her thoughts. She still had supplies hidden around the village that she could use, like beneath the bell and in her father's house. Oh, and some materia that she had found when she was younger too. She didn't know how to use them before, but with Aerith around she could at least learn now. Speaking of which…

"Aerith, can I ask you for a favor?" She shuffled her feet as Aerith gave the younger girl her full attention. "I have this friend whose mother is sick and—"

Aerith gave a slight nod of the head. "We've met that young man called Yuri. He was the one who told us you were in trouble."

"He did?" She looked around but saw no sign of him. "Where'd he go?"

"He scurried off after leadin' us here," Cid said, in the process of lighting a cigarette. He probably went back to his mother then. "So, are you gonna be able to handle this, kid?"

Yuffie hesitated for a moment and then nodded. "I'll get it done."

Cid gave a non-committal shrug and then walked off towards the house with the others. That left Aerith with Yuffie. The last of the Cetra gave her a warm smile and gestured for her to lead the way.

Yuffie brought her to a small home not too far from where they were and knocked on the door. As soon as it opened Yuri came into view. It had been months since she had seen him, but he didn't look all that much different than before. He still had the same handsome face and ponytail.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "I wanted to see you sooner, but you were being dragged away by Lord Kisaragi."

"I'm fine." She flashed him a smile. "Can we come in to see if we can help your mother?"

He guided them to his mother in a dark and incense filled room. Aerith did what she could to ease her pain, but made it clear that she couldn't deal with the underlying illness that was the source. At best they could simply offer her some measure of peace. However, the woman was merely grateful for that much, brief as it may be.

Yuffie then gave Yuri an assortment of her stolen healing-based materia to use, to help her on his own before they went on their way. She wanted to spend more time with them, but didn't have the luxury. Not right now.

She and Aerith then retrieved the Magic Shuriken and Hairpin she kept hidden in her father's home. They had belonged to her mother once upon a time, and Yuffie considered them among her most treasured possessions. But she needed them right now, and it was better they were used for a good purpose instead of gathering dust.

After that, they grabbed the two materia that she had around the village but didn't know what they were. According to Aerith, one absorbed the opponent's vitality while the other robbed their mental strength. They would probably be invaluable if she used them right.

Yuffie arrived back at home afterwards to find that the only one there was Crimson. She was sitting at the table and looking down at a map, talking on her phone softly. When she noticed them, she quickly said goodbye and hung up. "Did you handle your other business?"

Aerith nodded. "Where'd the others go?"

"Supply run." Crimson took a sip of whatever was in the cup she had and set it back down. "One way or another, we need to be ready to leave. Besides, Shera needed a new set of glasses after what happened to her old ones and I need to talk to Yuffie."

"Then I think I'll lie down for a little while." Aerith bid them farewell and went to lie down on the bed, leaving the two alone. Crimson pointed at the spot across from her. The message carried and Yuffie took a seat.

"Okay, let's hear it," she said, perching her elbow on the table and propping her head up.

"Like it or not, your father had you pegged when he called you too ambitious but lacking in wisdom," Crimson told her plainly while she put away the map. "My guess is that he doesn't intend for you to make it past the second floor at best."

" _Gee, you think?_ " Yuffie murmured, pouting petulantly in the process. It wasn't enough that she was already having quiet doubts. "Is that why you told them to go get supplies ahead of time? You don't think I can make it through all of them?"

"You made the right call," Crimson said softly. "They'll all underestimate you, so if we plan this right you can plow through them."

Yuffie blinked, only for Crimson to continue to look at her kindly. "…okay, you're starting to weird me out. Who are you and what have you done with the real one?"

Crimson sighed. "I guess from your perspective it seems like that…" She rubbed the bridge between her eyes. "Seeing you there made me realize just how similar we are—trained for the sake of our homes since childhood, same weapons, and same skill-sets."

"I… guess." Yuffie's shoulders rose and fell. "What about it?"

"You saw something wrong with your home and set out to find a way to correct as best you could as soon as possible, even at the cost of your own life," Crimson continued, pulling out her Rekka and looking at it ruefully. "Yet, if it were me, I would have rationalized it for the greater good and accepted it—like I did with Shinra. I would have locked away my own reservations as best I could until it got to the point where I _couldn't_ anymore, after the damage was too extensive to ignore. I do that with anything troublesome by second nature now. So when I realized how similar we were, but you made what felt like the choices I wished I could but didn't… I couldn't help but admire you a little."

"Umm… thanks." She rubbed the back of her head somewhat nervously at the praise. "Though, there's nothing to admire about it. I do the first thing on my mind, but it backfires a lot. Even though I bought back a bunch of materia, my father wouldn't even consider using them—all that trouble for nothing. The old coot might have had a point when it came to that whole wisdom thing…."

"That's why we travel as a group," Crimson said. "We balance each other out. What you lack, we can make up. All we need to do is work together and come up with a strategy you can use to come out on top. Then maybe your father will listen."

Yuffie felt her lips pull up into a small smile at that. "Right… well, to start, the Five Mighty Gods are warriors that excel in different virtues—Power, Speed, Magic, War and Omni. Next to the village's leader, they have the highest authority in Wutai."

"I knew that much from intelligence gathered during the war," Crimson said. "What I want to know is how they fight. Back then, it was generally believed that they were just skilled in combat befitting the title, but not more of a threat than armed soldiers."

"That's wrong," Yuffie told her. "It's not just a meaningless title, and they don't just specialize in a single aspect in combat. They _master_ it to the extent that they can embody them… ugh, how do I explain this to someone not from here… _mmm_ …."

She tapped her forehead in thought for a moment before it hit her. "You remember how we said Vincent can turn into monsters?" Crimson nodded. "Well, they can turn into a single monster form that best reflects that virtue. It's a defining factor in what makes someone capable of being considered one of the Five."

"Ah." A simple reaction, but fitting given that she traveled around with someone who can talk to the Planet, a talking lion with a flaming tail, and Vincent. "And your father is the strongest?"

Yuffie gave a slight nod to that. "The fact that my father is both the village's leader and the Omni makes him stand out, since it's only happened a few times in our history. I always looked up to him when I was growing up because of it. In fact, I was training to be next Speed Mighty God until the war got near the end. That's when my father changed and I learned about materia, so I went in a different direction and Shake got my place."

"But you've seen what they can all do?" Crimson asked. "How they fight?"

"Yeah." That much she had seen when others challenged the pagoda. "The first up is Gorky, the old man in green. He represents Power and can turn into this winged-demon thing. I've seen him in action a few times, and he always opens with—"

Crimson held up a hand to stop her. "Wait, let me write this down."

Yuffie waited until Crimson had a pen and paper, and then went over everything she knew. The two managed to put together a plan of action in the timeframe that they had with that information. Hopefully it would be enough to bring the Five Mighty Gods to their knees….


	42. Chapter 42

**Another Chapter is here!**

 **Quathis: lol**

 **Kazeshuriken: True, true.**

 **AltenativeFutureFan27: Thank you.**

 **Enjoy!**

Once the allotted time was up, Yuffie stood at the bottom floor of the pagoda once more with her equipment and materia ready—including a replacement arm-guard. This time only Gorky stood opposite her instead of the entirety of the Five, though Shake stood against the left wall in observation. Her companions stood against the right wall to silently support her, along with the pilot and his assistant they brought along.

"My apologies for this, Miss Yuffie," said the venerable elder of the Five Mighty Gods. He inclined his head and gave a slight bow in respect. "Your father has given explicit instructions not to go easy on you."

The young kunoichi pursed her lips for a moment. Then she unfurled the Magic Shuriken and pointed it at him. "Bring it on!"

He elder nodded and the look in his eyes changed, brimming with vigor and power. He took on a battle stance and howled, **"POWER CHANGE!"**

In a flash, gone was the man. In his place was a blue demon crouched on one knee, wings lax like a cloak draped over his back. He slowly rose to his feet to reveal that he was slightly taller than Yuffie, before spreading his leathery pinions and flapping them to attain lift off the ground.

 **"I will make this brief."** The transformation replaced his normally calm voice with a deep, guttural rumbled deeply as he spoke. **"Show me your power!"** Then he covered himself with a barrier and dove towards her headfirst, like a missile speeding towards a target.

Yuffie had seen this before. It was Gorky's opener. Befitting his role as the first of the Five Mighty Gods, he went all-out from the very beginning with his full power—going from a blitz into a diving kick at the start to take out those who were unaware.

The moment she saw him pulling in his wings and twisting his body in the air to bring his feet forward, she rolled out of the way. There was a resounding, thunderous crash as he landed where she had once been, making the reinforced floor shake for a pause as his strengthened leg muscles withstood the impact of his own attack. Just as quick, Yuffie was up on her feet and then bounced back with her shuriken in her hand.

She used it like a chakram instead of flinging it, sweeping it around like a blade to cut into his toughened flesh. However, the Barrier spell layering the body of the demon combined with Gorky's martial prowess allowed him to block the strikes with his forearms before he swung his tail around to take her legs from under her. Yuffie saw it coming quick enough to leap up, but it left her open as he delivered side-kick that she narrowly blocked with her arm-guard.

Gorky watched as the impact sent her airborne but she managed to control the fall into a back-roll and then sprung back up onto her feet, pulling out a scroll that she flung and uttering a word of release. The scroll unleashed a flaming blaze that he avoided by leaping up and spreading his wings, using the heat to rise further into the air as it snuffed itself out. Then he called forth darkness and made the air tremble as the gravity around her increased intensely, bringing her to her knees.

 **"Not good enough."** He let the attack run its course as he hovered in the air, arms crossed. **"You cannot hope to best your father if you cannot withstand this much, Miss Yuffie. Submit."**

Once the Demi 2 spell finished, Yuffie rose to her feet in defiance and ignored the aching in her bones. "Never!"

 **"So be it!"** He prepared to dive again when Yuffie snapped her fingers and a phantasmal clock appeared on the floor beneath her. He crashed down with another dive kick, only to find that she had disappeared. Craning his head around, he abruptly felt her presence behind him and spun around, bringing his arm around to lash out.

Yuffie leapt up, her body and mind quickened through the Haste spell, and brought the Magic Shuriken around as the strike went underneath her. Gorky didn't bother trying to block it as it neared his wings since the defensive barrier covered his entire body like a shell and would mitigate it. She had brought that up with Crimson and they had immediately pegged it as a bad habit that they could exploit.

Trigger the Destruct Materia she borrowed from Crimson, the barrier shattered like glass as the blades of the shuriken cleaved through the leathery pinions. Gorky experienced pain and the lack of wings crippled his mobility, meaning no more diving kicks. Taking the opportunity to strike while she could, Yuffie pressed her empty hand against his body and triggered the Thunder Materia she borrowed as well.

There was a blinding flash and roaring noise as the Bolt 3 spell detonated like dynamite, leaving everyone—Yuffie included—with their ears ringing as they blinked away the spots in their eyes. When they did, they witnessed that Gorky was on his knees.

 **"Still not enough, Miss Yuffie."** He snapped his fingers and a pale, viridian hue swaddled his frame. The bleeding from his wings stopped. Looking carefully, she could see the wings and burns starting to heal themselves—he was using a Regen spell.

"No you don't!" Yuffie activated her Poison Materia and used the Bio 2 spell. The maleficent, sickly green poison manifested as a dense orb the size of a truck right over his head and then fell down. The bane fluid sank into his skin through the pores and the freshly-healing wounds, festering horribly to offset the healing he had granted himself, at the same time blinding him as the acrid liquid mercilessly rotted his eyes.

Agonizing cries overwhelmed their ears as they listened to the elder in his demon form deal with the pain. Yuffie felt guilt upon hearing. She didn't have anything against Gorky under normal circumstances—in fact she kinda liked the old-timer like an uncle—and knew that any damage done to the monster form wouldn't bleed over to his human form. Still, it was unpleasant. "Give up and return to normal if you want to escape the pain!"

 **"I will not!"** He flexed his body and rushed forward. **"Your father gave me an order, and I shall fulfill it to the end!"**

Yuffie dodged the clumsy strikes with sickening ease. The blinding pain and still-active Haste spell rendered his power useless since it couldn't hit her. It was almost enough to bring her to tears that he was hurting himself.

"Ah, why are you all so _damn_ stubborn!?" A blazing light emanated from her body, anger born of worry over his stubbornness. Intending to end this before he could push himself even further, she sank it into her arms and legs to strengthen them to their limit. "Go down!"

Crossing the distance in the blink of an eye with preternatural speed, putting everything ounce of her strength behind her strike, Yuffie cut him down like Greased Lightning with her large shuriken in hand. The impact struck hard enough that the air around them was displaced by the strike.

Gorky went still for a pregnant pause and then began to evaporate, his demonic body only registering that it had been cut clean in two after the fact. Gone was the monster, leaving only the man to fall to his knees in the aftermath. " _Agh…_ "

He panted, sweat glistening off his face. "You… have proven… your power. I have failed Lord Godo… but I am proud of your growth… Miss Yuffie."

"You lost on purpose to her didn't you, Gorky!" Shake accused heatedly. Yuffie glared at her. She was next.

"She won fair and square." The older man took a deep breath, his chest puffing out as he forced himself up to his feet and pointed to the stairs. "You'd best prepare yourself, Miss Shake."

"I'm not going to go easy on you like he did," the younger girl warned Yuffie before she stormed up the stairs.

Crimson approached Yuffie, deactivating Sense. She couldn't offer help from the sideline, but being able to assess how the battle was going and being able to advise her afterwards was valuable in its own way. "You're upset."

Yuffie's head bobbed slightly and her lips thinned into a frown. "I didn't like hearing him in pain."

"What's effective isn't always pretty or nice," she said. "But in this case, it's necessary. You're fighting alone against veterans. You have to be brutal and efficient to survive, especially given how determined he was."

"I guess…" Yuffie watched as Aerith went over to the old man to ask if he wanted to be healed with one of the spare Restore Materia that Yuffie had stockpiled. He refused on the grounds that it wasn't honorable to ask that and stated he would be fine with a little rest. So stubborn, but then again her father had been a part of that.

She looked down to her hands and felt the nebulous energy within her that preceded her learning both her previous Limit Breaks. It was colorless, undefined, and shapeless. She'd determine what form to give it in the battles to come soon enough.

 **[-oOo-]**

Tifa looked on as Kunsel pointed at a spot on map of the area. They were currently using one of the rooms at the Gold Saucer's Inn to rest and prepare for taking the Huge Materia in the nearby reactor. To her surprise, Dio had been fine with the fact that his Buggy had been shot-up—something about reminding him of his youth.

"This is our best chance to take the Huge Materia," the former Second-Class said. "I confirmed the shipping schedule and the location of it once more yesterday. We can take it mid-transit here from the train, where the security will be the lightest."

"How can you be sure they'll take the train?" Vincent asked. "A helicopter could be used instead, couldn't it?"

"The airspace around here is lousy with aerial monsters," he said. "Not to mention that the Huge Materia is incredibly dense and plays havoc with mako-based fuel sources when close to the engines. A helicopter will go down in a matter of minutes."

"I don't see why we don't cut through the bullshit, march into the reactor, and then take the damn thing by force," Barret pointed out. "In and out before they know what hit them."

Kunsel tilted his head enough that his mako-colored eyes could be seen over the rim of the shades. "Because then there'll be a repeat with what happened in Old Corel."

Barret bristled at that. "What are you trying to say?"

"Shinra is desperate and they know who you are by now, so do you really think that they wouldn't slaughter the refugees until you gave it up after what happened in Rocket Town?" He pointed out. "Plus, we're right next to the Gold Saucer. I won't bring this kind of trouble to Dio's doorstep after what happened before."

Barret looked as though he wanted to say something harsh and violent, but forced himself to calm down and think. "Okay… let's say you gotta point. What makes this snatch-and-grab so much different?"

"Leaving aside fewer dead bodies, the idea here is that I, Vincent, and Nanaki, will board the train mid-transit and stop it. Once the train has been stopped, I can have phoenix snatch the Huge Materia and cart it off to an escape vehicle I'm procuring. We can then take it to Cosmo Canyon and store it there, sealing it underground from their scanners."

"I've talked with Grandfather about it," Nanaki added. "He has agreed to do so."

"Then what will Barret and I do?" Tifa asked.

"You're going to be a safety-net," he said. "I heard that they've given the train conductor clearance to plow straight through the new Coral establishment in an effort to keep this secretive. They aren't trying to evacuate it, and no one would be the wiser or show concern if people who had been tossed aside from society were abruptly killed. 'If' the media reported it, it either be listed as a traumatic accident or blamed it on AVALANCHE."

It sickened her to her stomach, but it was something they would do when Tifa thought about it. Shinra still controlled the media, and it would be easy to cover it up this far out. Hell, they pulled that off in Midgar easy enough. "So you want us to prevent that?"

He turned to her. "If we cannot stop the train and get the Huge Materia off of it, you're going to destroy the bridge and derail the train. Using your summonings, you can do so in a way that it crashes at the bottom of the mountain and out of the way. Ideally, the Huge Materia will remain intact. If not… well, at least Shinra won't have it."

 **[-oOo-]**

Aerith leaned against the wall at the top of the pagoda as the rest of the Five Mighty Gods filed in before Yuffie faced off against her father. It was bordering evening now, with the sun slowly setting over the horizon, but the kunoichi had finally reached the top.

Shake had been much easier to deal with than Gorky once her speed was sealed off. She didn't possess many long-range capabilities, being an adorable penguin and all, but she had made the unfortunate mistake of inducing Fury upon Yuffie. Just like with Crimson, she had a lot of rage repressed and Cloud had to hold her back while Aerith cured the condition.

Then was Chekov, who turned into some kind of one-legged, multi-armed… _thing_. Yuffie had to avoid eye-contact to avoid being paralyzed, allowing Chekov to siphon off her physical strength similar to the ability of the vengeful ghost in Cosmo Canyon. So she literally blinded her.

Last had been Staniv, who used some kind of large flail. The War Cry his monster form unleashed left Yuffie depressed to the point of tears, explaining that it brought up memories that made her sad. It had been jarring to see the normally energetic girl that crestfallen, but she perked back up once Aerith treated her again.

As everyone settled in, a faint whisper reached Aerith's ears from what looked to be a small altar at the back of the room. It was distant enough from what served as the arena to avoid being damaged, at the same time mounted on a platform as if to overlook it. The voice felt like that of Summoning, its tone heavy in age compared to that of a younger summoning like Mog. Unfortunately, it went silent before she could peg which it was as Godo spoke.

"So, you've made it this far," he said, standing opposite his daughter. "You have grown, but it ends here. I'll show you what true power is."

"Save it, you old coot!" Yuffie said, taking on a fighting stance with her Magic Shuriken at the ready. "I'm gonna beat the snot out of you and make you take back everything you said earlier."

"Very well." He shifted his stance and took in a deep breath. **"OMNI CHANGE!"**

Bright light filled the room before abating, leaving Aerith and the others to look up at what her father had become. He had turned into a three-headed Asura, surpassing the others in terms of sheer-size and power that he exuded. It was easy enough to see how he got the title of the strongest of the Five Mighty Gods.

 **"Hold nothing back for I will not, Yuffie."** His voice bellowed out as three-in-one when he spoke. The red mask of the Beast came to the front and he took a step forward. **"Come at me with the intention of ending my life, or you may very well lose yours."**

Then he roared as he brought the massive sword down towards her. Yuffie dodged, but the force of the blade swinging down released shockwave. The dome of displaced air swept her up and sent her rolling across the ground.

 **"Can you feel the weight of my power?"** He clasped the two extra hands that held nothing together and slowly pulled them away, revealing a pyramid with an inverted pyramid within it that teemed with caged lightning. It expanded when he pulled them apart entirely and then shot towards Yuffie, sealing her within it. **"The might of my magic? Know them and regret your ignorance!"**

"That's the same spell that Nanaki and the Materia Keeper used," Aerith noted as she watched Yuffie bracing herself as the tendrils of lightning struck her from every angle within. "I don't know if she can handle it."

"That spell's useless against her," Crimson said confidently, leaning on the wall next to Cloud with her eyes slightly glazed to show Sense was active. True to word, Yuffie had been fine when the spell dissipated, only minor scorches across her skin and smoke wafting from her body to signal she was hurt in the first place. She stood up with a cocky grin. "I gave her the same set-up I had to deal with Reno when she told me about her father's abilities."

"Gonna have to do better than that!" She held out the armlet that contained the Gravity Materia that Aerith had loaned her, linked to the materia that absorbed mental power. Similar to what Kunsel had done in Costa del Sol and Gorky to her, she unleashed a Demi 2 spell. It hammered the Asura and threatened to crush him under his own weight, bringing him to his knees and making him groan.

Yuffie took the opportunity to gloat. "I remembered when Gorky managed to hurt you with this spell during your spar more than the others. Not so mighty now, are you?"

"With him pinned down like that, his size has become a liability," Cloud said as he watched Yuffie glow with a pale blue light, sapping his mental power and adding it to her own. "That takes away his speed and power advantage."

"And because the spell is robbing him of his mental power, his ability to use magic will be hampered as well soon enough," Crimson added. "She can blast him with Bolt 3 once the spell wears off and then get into a position to do them both again and again—until he goes down."

It wasn't very sporting, but it was effective. Yuffie did just that, slamming him with the lightning bolt that forced them to cover their ears as it hit home when the gravity-well dispersed. Aerith was in the middle of blinking away the latest set of spots in her eyes when the deep reverb of gravity intensifying reached her ears again in a greater depth.

Godo, now sporting the mask of the white-faced Cheater, had used a stronger version of the spell that had been used against him. It brought a crashing weight down upon Yuffie herself as he rose to his feet. He then shifted his mask again to that of the Human, and soothed his wounds with the Cure 2 spell.

" _That's dirty…_ " Yuffie groaned as she strained against the Demi 3 spell. Never mind that it was the exact same thing she would have done. It may have been because Aerith was looking in from the outside, but to her Yuffie and her father really were alike.

Either way, when the spell wore off, Yuffie barely had time to get to her feet when she saw that he had gone back to the Beast mask and leapt into the air. He swung the sword while he fell down, using the added momentum to increase the power of the Beast Sword. She barely managed to roll out of the way as the blade came crashing down and another shockwave caught her on the fringes.

 **"It will take more than simple tricks to best the Omni,"** he warned his daughter as she wavered back onto her feet. **"As I said once before, come at me with intent to kill, or you will perish!"**

Then he came after her again to test her might….


	43. Chapter 43

**Another Chapter is here!**

 **Quathis: Thank you.**

 **Kazeshuriken: True true.**

 **Enjoy!**

Yuffie's blood pounded in her ears, a repetitive beating that left her deaf to everything else as her hastened body avoided the scything, yet slow swings of the large sword by leaping back and then rolling out of the way of the follow-up strike. The shockwave that followed was expected and she went with it, carrying herself further out of the path despite driving a deep ache into her bones. That pain was drowned out by the shock of the next spell being triggered surging through her mind.

The deep thrum of gravity resounded as the Demi 2 spell brought the Asura onto his knees once more. A pale blue glow flowed from him and into her as she plundered from him the mental strength to use spells again, clearing her mind of the mental exhaustion she faced to this point. Darting to his backside with hastened speed and taking to the air with a jump, Yuffie then fired the Bolt 3 spell at a downwards angle upon his unprotected back as the intensified gravity wore off.

Three voices cried out as one in a pained groan as it flew from her outstretched hand in a blinding, brilliant flash and struck the Asura in his back. The floor trembled as the blast crashed the giant into it mercilessly. Seizing the opportunity, the light of the Limit Break swaddled her as she hit the ground and lunged forward with her Magic Shuriken, the muscles in her arms and legs strengthened to strike like Greased Lightning.

The blades of her shuriken tore into his unprotected body, ripping into the greenish-flesh as she passed by. But, the moment it finished, one of the hands that held nothing grabbed her leg and then threw her across the arena. Despite bringing her arm-guard up to protect her head, the world flashed as she hit the ground and then reality returned with pain that wrenched a cry from her throat that was audible to all who had gathered.

She tried to catch the breath stolen from her lung on impact as she stood, every muscle in her body aching to the point of trembling. But her father managed to get back on his feet first. He pointed the three-pronged vajra in his offhand towards her and the golden points were illuminated with a crimson glow.

That blood-tinted light then coiled around her body and strangled her. It forcibly ripped her life essence away from her body and into the prongs, like a vampire bat supping freshly-drawn blood and channeling it into nourishment to repair the damage she had done. That much was evident as the gouge in his flesh she opened up seconds ago sealed shut.

The kunoichi shook it off and raised her arm as the mask of the Cheater came to the forefront now. They both ended up casting the same spell, crafting maleficent orbs of bane-liquid that crashed into one another and splashed all over the arena. The burning sensation of it stinging her skin left Yuffie feeling as though it was eating the patches of flesh it touched raw….

" _Ughh…_ " Then the nausea and fever came, her head swimming. She stumbled as her body suddenly felt worsened aches and agony, burning on the inside. Her legs caved in on her, leaving her on her knees and swooning like she was drunk.

"You've been poisoned!" yelled… _someone_. The pain left her unable to think straight enough to guess who. But she understood that she needed to cure herself and fast, before her father finished her off. Reaching into her pouch, she grasped the Heal Materia and pulled it out.

But burning agony laced her fingers and robbed her hands of their strength as the flesh from it began to sag. The materia rolled out of her hand and she curled up in pain while it felt like acid was pumping through her veins. Even breathing was a Hell in itself, and she realized she was going to die unless she cured it.

 _Have to reach it,_ she told herself as she forced a weak, trembling hand towards the materia that was within an arm's length. But her consciousness, swimming in pain and fever, wavered and her body felt like it was sloughing apart.

Healing light wreathed her before her body could give out, strength returning and allowing her to grasp the Heal Materia. The gentle jolt to her mind was welcomed as she felt the burning sensation of her flesh and muscles being eaten away vanish instantly. She let loose a shuddering breath in relief before looking up to see that her father's three-pronged vajra was pointing at her, softly aglow with the light that had saved her. " _You… healed me?_ "

 **"At this point, the difference between us should have been made clear. Though you have gained strength, you still cannot hope to triumph over me. Do you still wish to continue after tasting what it means to come to Death's door?"**

"Don't make fun of me!" she yelled as she rose back up onto her feet. He was taking it easy on her—probably the whole time. That explained why his swings were slow and he always hit her with the shockwave instead of the sharpened blade. "I'm serious about this! I'm not going to stop until I beat you and make you live up to your promise!"

 **"Your courage borders on stubbornness,"** Godo said. **"That is unacceptable for one in your position, Yuffie. It will lead our people to their end. Why can't you understand this?"**

"You're the stubborn one!" Yuffie said, pointing to Aerith. "They need those parts to save the Planet and you're in the way even after everything we told you, just because you don't want to piss off Shinra! You and the other Mighty Gods have all this power, but you're just lying around instead of throwing your weight behind us or doing something!"

 **"…You cannot understand,"** Godo said, a note of cold resignation within the three voices that spoke in one. **"You are too young, too naïve to comprehend the burden of power—no matter how often I try to explain it through words."**

"And everything I'm saying goes in one ear and out the other with you," Yuffie said as her anger came bubbling up. It was laced with sorrow as she realized they _couldn't_ understand each other except like this. "That's why we're here in the first place, doing this!"

 **"…Then come."** All four hands grabbed the hilt as the Asura took on a fighting stance to end it with a single strike. **"Make me understand your words with your weapon. Put every drop of your meager power and stubborn resolve into it. As the mountain that shields Wutai from all that threaten it within and without, I will shatter them both and make you understand my words.** "

 **"Fine!"** she yelled as her anger at his stubbornness, her sorrow that they can't understand each other any other way, and her resolve formed a mold for the nebulous energy of her undefined Limit Break to fill in and shape itself. If he was as stubborn as an unmoving mountain, then she would simply have to become strong enough to shatter it.

Blazing light wrapped Yuffie as her body tensed for the strike to end it all….

 **[-oOo-]**

Aerith felt really sad listening to the father and daughter coming to the same realization. They were both speaking, but they couldn't hear what the other was saying. So they were going to hash it out with force instead.

It was another thing that made her grateful to her adoptive mother. Elmyra had always been patient with her, even as she slowly began to develop the ability to hear the voice of the Planet. Their relationship had never been strained like this.

She watched as Yuffie leapt into the air as high as she could and fell towards her father, the furious light wreathing her gathering into her gauntlet. The Asura swung the flat of his sword upwards to meet the arm-guard. The moment they connected, all that power was unleashed.

In an instant, the world itself dropped from under Aerith's feet. The pagoda tremored like it had been ground zero of an earthquake, shaking on its support beams and threatening to buckle under the impact. Many of those who had gathered to bear witness to the fight screamed and voiced their shock, surprise, and pain as they were knocked around too.

Aerith herself felt as though she had been thrown around. Like a doll in the hands of a hyperactive, thrashing child. Fortunately, something soft broke her fall forward as the tremors faded away and things came to a standstill.

"Aerith," came from beneath her. She looked down to see that she had landed on Crimson, lying over her back as she had fallen over from the attack too. "Your hand?"

"Ah." The last of the Ancients removed her hand from Crimson's bottom and got to her feet, apologizing profusely as she offered to help her up. "Sorry about that."

"It's not really that big of a deal," Crimson said as she got up and dusted herself off. "We ended up better than the others did."

Aerith looked to see that the Mighty Gods were a tangled mess. Shake was struggling to push off the other two on top of her, while Gorky was rubbing his back like he had thrown it out. Shera was patting the ground in search of her glasses, while Cid was rubbing his head where it hit Cloud's, leaving one muttering a string of curses and the other apologizing.

"What just happened?" Aerith asked.

"It looks like she developed a new Limit Break and decided this was the best place to test it. It's a miracle that the entire building didn't collapse…." Her voice trailed off as her gaze fixed itself back towards the arena and Aerith's followed.

Standing in the veil of dust that had been thrown up on the impact, Yuffie was wobbling on her feet as she stood on the edge of a gaping hole. Her attack had struck down her father with enough force that the Asura had been knocked through the rest of the floors, until he hit the bottom and retook his human form. By the rules of the match, he could no longer fight—if move after that.

" _…I… win…._ " She muttered in a voice that was so soft that the creaking of wood from the building mostly overlapped it. Then her half-lidded eyes closed in exhaustion… and she fell towards her death in exhaustion!

 **"Catch her!"** Crimson yelled abruptly, a note of sincere fear in her voice. But they wouldn't make it. The quake had disorientated and knocked them around as much as it had Aerith, and they were just getting back on their feet or untangling themselves.

Time seemed to slow as Aerith watched the youngest of their group disappear down the mouth of the hole before Cloud, who had been the fastest, could catch her. Cries and screams came out from both the Mighty Gods and her friends, and Aerith's heart stilled at the thought Yuffie would die doing this for this her cause. The worst fear she confessed to her mother was coming true….

Then she heard a voice beckon her and looked down to see a Summon Materia near her feet, knocked free of the altar during that last attack. Her desperate fingers clutched it and she wordlessly invoked the summoning within. The strong jolt to her mind dazed her as the ancient summoning materialized and speared forward.

Its elongated and serpentine body cut through the air and brushed past the others roughly to slink down the hole, folding its fins into its body to dive down smoothly. The prehensile whiskers on its face cradled her body and slowed her descent. Aerith darted over to the edge to see that Leviathan stopped Yuffie mere feet from the bottom floor, next to her father lying helpless on the ground in exhaustion. His eyes were wide in horror and fear.

The revered Ruler of the Waves positioned the kunoichi into her father's arms as he forced his exhausted body upright. Then it coiled around on the bottom floor as the others made their way down. Aerith still felt dazed by the summoning's weight upon her mind, but kept her steps steady as she reached the bottom.

The Five Mighty Gods bowed their heads in reverence to the Leviathan. The only exception was Godo, the Omni himself. Instead, he held his unconscious daughter tight in his arms as if afraid to let her go. Leviathan seemingly paid that no mind as it spoke.

 _"It has been a long time since I have breathed deep the air of these lands and tasted the sea upon the breeze."_ Its voice was gentle upon the ears, akin to the lapping waves upon the shores. _"Harken my words, those who worship my name. For I will make my will known now."_

"You honor us with your presence," Gorky said from his pose of supplication. "What is it you wish for us to heed?"

 _"The Cetra's words are truth. This world faces great turmoil, and the seas will not spare this land from the aftereffects."_ It turned its gaze upon Yuffie. _"This warrior, who has proven her worth in my presence, will depart from these lands and continue her journey as my hand in the events that will unfold."_

Godo shook his head, holding his daughter tighter. "If there needs to be one who acts in your name, it will be I. She will stay in the village."

 _"The decision had been made the moment you wagered against her and lost."_ Leviathan rose up and hovered over the man. _"Continue your duties as the one who protects like the mountain, while she becomes the one who act in my name."_

"I will not make her a sacrifice to you," he stated firmer, clear defiance in his voice this time. "She will stay in the village, and I will take her place!"

It clicked for Aerith then, why he healed her during the match and never used the poison prior to when she did. He couldn't bear the thought of her suffering and dying after he had sacrificed much to uphold his position. He had let his daughter slip through his arms once, but he couldn't do so a second time and send her to what he perceived to be her death against Sephiroth.

Even if it meant defying one of the very gods he worshipped. And, considering Leviathan's fins unfolded and the air pressure in the room abruptly dropped, like a storm was approaching, there was a very real chance he was about to be smote for it.

Aerith prepared to cut her connection with it before that could happen, but Crimson's fingers wrapped hers to stop it. They remained braced as Aerith's emerald eyes met the honey-brown pair. There was a cold firmness behind them.

" _Don't,_ " Crimson stressed. "Yuffie fought and nearly died for this. You cut the connection, and we may not get another chance."

This time, when it spoke, Leviathan's voice carried a tempestuous rumble. _ **"My will is akin to the churning depths. Just as it cannot be tempered by the will of man, nor can it be swayed by one who clings to her with like a drowning man to flotsam in a storm."**_

Yuffie's father still looked defiant as he rose onto his feet and stared the summoning in the eyes. Aerith looked to Crimson again and saw her face was fixed in firm expression, as unyielding as her fingers. She… she was really going to let this happen.

" _Lord Godo,_ " called Gorky, his voice pleading. "We cannot lose you as well. Please, think of the village. Think of what Miss Yuffie will feel when she wakes without you. Have faith that she can carry out this task and return alive."

Just like that, all of the tension and willingness to fight drained from his body. His death would be an insurmountable loss for Wutai at the moment, more so given the circumstances. The man who spoke doubtlessly of the good of the village before could not act in a way that he chastised his daughter for.

 _ **"Still your fears,"**_ spoke the Ruler of the Waves, its tone settling and fins retracting upon his silent surrender. _"I will accompany the child in this endeavor. No matter how vast the distance, know that she will be under my protection wherever the waves reach."_

With that said, Crimson released her grip on Aerith's hands. Aerith took that as cue to let the summoning fade. The summoning dissipated into glowing, deep-blue motes and the light within the materia dimmed.

"…I will take her to my home and let her rest," Godo said after a moment, breaking the silence that followed. There was a clear note of authority in his tone. It all but _dared_ anyone to speak out against it. "Come morning, I will see you escorted to where you will find what you need, and have a boat prepared to retrieve your plane. But you will fend for yourselves."

"That's fine," Crimson said, letting him depart without a word more.

Aerith stepped forward, thinking of something to say and reassure him that Yuffie would be safe. But nothing came to mind as he walked out the door, past the worried villagers that had gathered after the shaking of the pagoda reverberated through the village. How could she promise him that after everything that's happened so far?

As the rest of the Mighty Gods went to calm the people down, and Cid left with Shera, Aerith turned to see that Crimson was lingering behind and speaking softly to Cloud. When he finished and walked towards Aerith, their eyes met. Crimson turned away, not daring to look her in the eyes for long.

"We need to head back," Cloud told her, setting a hand on her shoulder. "Our welcome in the village will probably be worn out soon."

Aerith wordlessly nodded, her grasp tightening on Leviathan's Summoning Materia in the palm of her hand….


	44. Chapter 44

**Another Chapter is here!**

 **Quathis: True, true**

 **Kazeshuriken: Yes it is.**

 **Enjoy!**

 _"Mmm… mm…"_ Yuffie shifted as she slowly roused from the depths of unconsciousness. Her entire body ached, even swaddled in the long forgotten sensation of being nestled within a futon. She just wanted to sleep a little longer…

Then her memories caught up to her. She recalled that she had just beaten her father in heated combat and then nothing. So what was she doing in a futon? The thought caused her to snap upright, leaving the cover to slide down to her waist and reveal that she had been changed into a white kosode.

Her dark-brown eyes skimmed the room and she realized that she was inside the head temple, her father's home that she moved out of ages ago. Her father himself was sitting at the table across from her in a seiza position, on a cushion. His back was to her, but she could tell he was slowly stirring tea in a cup.

"You've awakened," he said without looking at her. "Come and sit. We have much to talk about."

His tone sounded… _weary_ , if Yuffie had to place a label on it. No fight or presence within it at all. She slipped out of the futon and then walked around to the other end of the table, taking a seat on the cushion cross-legged and then eyeing the spread laid out. There was a plate of youkan, which were jellied sweet dessert blocks made of red bean paste, and baked rectangle-shaped rice snacks called okaki in the center.

"I take it you still like your Green Tea sweet?" he asked as he blended the tea. She nodded and watched as he added a dollop of honey to the mix, the golden swirl slowly blending into the liquid. He blew gently across the rim of the cup, the rich and familiar aroma teasing her nose, before he slid it across to her.

She eyed it cautiously and then him, the change in his demeanor bothering her on some level deeper than she would like to admit. But hunger and thirst gnawed at her. She picked up the tea cup with one hand and a snack with the other. "What happened?"

"You won our bout—" A smile appeared on her face. "—then you nearly fell to your death."

Her smile faltered, the rim of the cup stopping an inch from her mouth. " _Oh…_ " She set the cup down. "Does that mean it doesn't count?"

"I had to watch helplessly as you fell to your death because of your brashness. If it were up to me, you would never set foot outside of the village again." He crossed his arms, hiding them within the sleeves so they looked connected. "However, my will has been overruled by Lord Leviathan in the matter. You will go with your companions in accordance to its will."

She blinked. "I… feel like I'm missing something here…."

"I suspect as much." Her father sighed and then recounted what happened after she passed out. No one could reach her and he couldn't move or transform, leaving her fate sealed if not for the timely appearance of Leviathan from the holy jewel that had been passed down from generation-to-generation, supposedly containing its soul.

"Aerith… _mmph_ … must've called it out," Yuffie reasoned, whilst chewing on her snack. "She can hear the voices of the summonings inside their Materia."

"So I've gathered." He didn't sound _pleased_ about it as he reached down and then pulled out a scroll. "Regardless, the declaration was made. I cannot aid you once you leave beyond this. It is a manual with the teachings of the All Creation that guided me years ago in becoming the Omni."

She took and unraveled it, only to find archaic text in her native language. A displeased grumble bubbled up in her throat. It would take her ages to decipher it. "I still don't get why you didn't fight against Shinra with all that power before."

"… Yuffie," he said with tensed patience. "What do you think would have happened if we waged war with that power? What would it have accomplished?"

She pointed out the obvious. "We could have won the war."

"Presuming that was true… would we be better off for it?" he asked.

Her first thought was 'Yes' at the moment, but after that last fight she was starting to have some doubts.

"You believe that many of our people have left because of how the village has been presented to the outside world, but did you consider how many died fighting for our cause? How many were tired of hearing the sound of bombs being dropped and living in fear? We faced an enemy of unparalleled numbers, and they would have laid waste to the lands we had tended to for centuries. Would it have been worth it then?"

That gave her pause. She could still recall them some nights, the sounds of war being waged in the distance, and the faces of those whose loved ones didn't come back home. Yuri's father had been among the lost.

"In all honesty, I would rather you remained in the village," he said. "You are… so reckless with the life that your mother and I gave you."

"Why do you care now?" Yuffie asked bluntly. "When I came home, you dragged me off to try and have be punished by the others. Your first words weren't 'welcome home' or 'how have you been' or anything like that."

"When you first spoke to me upon returning home, it was not an apology for just running off in the middle of a night, stealing a boat, and then never contacting me," he pointed out, making an effort to keep his voice leveled. "It was just a recount of how many battles you've been in, how many lives you've participated in taking, and how much power you've gathered for the sake of waging war. What father would be happy listening to all of that?"

She pouted, but didn't give an answer. She just grabbed another youkan to munch on.

He took that as a cue to continue. "You focus so much on the martial history and pride of our people, but give no consideration for the other aspects. Yes, you've grown strong, but all that power in the hands of someone who only sees that strength in terms of violence will inevitably lead us to ruin. That is a disservice to all those who died defending our way of living, as well as our culture."

"You've turned… _mmph_ … this place into… _mmph_ …a tourist trap," Yuffie said between bites, only to swallow afterwards. "How is that not a disservice?"

"It may appear gaudy on the outside, but our culture is still intact," he said. "And the revenue from the attractions has allowed us to remain aloft in lieu of losing so many people and thus a suitable workforce. No, it is not ideal compared to the past. But isn't it better than losing everything because of our pride."

"…Oh…" She hadn't considered all of that. It never crossed her mind that such things were necessary for the village to stay functional.

"You frustrate me because you _should_ have known these things," her father admitted, massaging the bridge of his nose. "I should have taught you better, but back then I was so consumed with the battles that lay ahead that all you saw of me was that side. It took root inside of you, and nearly cost you your life right in front of my eyes. Now I must allow you to go do more of the same with utter strangers."

"… It's not like I only fought with those guys," she said, after a moment of thought on how to ease his worries. "I met some nice people too, like the people beneath Junon and Priscilla. I guess what happened to them is sort of what you were trying to explain. But that's all the more reason I have to fight, so things don't end up like that. The world doesn't stop at our shores, I know that much now."

"Then I can only pray that you will become wise to the world along your journey, and return with that wisdom to us once more…."

 **[-oOo-]**

Aerith hesitated as she stood at the stairway leading down into the ground-level of Yuffie's home. Yuffie's friend had brought the materia they loaned her back, stating that she was awake and having a long discussion with her father. Now she cradled the rest of Crimson's materia, who had gone down there after she had finished bathing to plan their next move in peace.

The memory of her earlier, how she wanted Aerith to maintain the summoning despite it getting ready to kill her friend's father, kept playing out in her head. Having witnessed her own birthmother's death, Aerith wasn't keen on being responsible for the death of a friend's parent. Yet, Crimson had been so willing...

She looked down to Ramuh's Summoning Materia and recalled what she had told Crimson when she handed it over. If she truly felt like she was becoming a monster, he would be the one to stop her if she fell onto that path. What would have been his judgment if she had him on her at the time she made that declaration?

When she could no longer delay the inevitable, she climbed down the stairs to see that Crimson was on the phone.

"—do what you think needs to be done," she said into it. "But watch it. Tseng and the others likely have something planned on the train."

Aerith approached her as she hung up and handed over the materia she loaned Yuffie. "That Yuri boy brought these back."

Crimson silently accepted them, not daring to look her in the eyes, before turning back towards a map. The silence that followed only caused the question Aerith wanted to ask to violently stir inside of her, until she couldn't hold it in anymore. "Were you really going to let Yuffie's father die?"

"It didn't come to that," Crimson said, as if expecting it. "Everyone got out of it safe and sound."

"But would you have let it happen?" she asked again.

"…Yes. If need be," she admitted in an emotionless voice. "One death is cleaner than if we had to force our way into the facility. If you had cut the summoning and Godo refused to honor his end of the bargain, then I would have been forced to act while they couldn't transform again and may have had to kill more than one to get the point across. If Leviathan, their patron god, did the deed himself for Godo being an oath-breaker, then that would be considered an act of divine punishment rather than murder."

"But would it have been worth it?" Aerith asked. "To sentence her father to death after she fought him to that point… using me to do it?"

"I would have taken responsibility for it and told her the truth, because I was the one who helped her get into a position to necessitate Leviathan's summoning." Her hair shifted as she lowered her head. "Believe me, I'm glad that it didn't come to that. But if it had, I would be the one to blame—neither of you would be at fault."

Aerith looked away from her at that. Even if that was the case, the fact that it was her magic that was being used to do so made it partially her fault. "I thought you wanted to change… what would Cloud think if he knew that?"

"I'm sure he knows already." Aerith looked up at that to see her fists were clenched. "He was close enough to hear with his ears being as sharp as they were. He was just too polite to say anything earlier, I'm sure."

The last of the Cetra had nothing to say after that. So she left back up the stairs.

 **[-oOo-]**

"I'm such a hypocrite," Crimson said to herself after Aerith left. She saw an easy way to ensure they got what they needed and took it in the end. Her hand clutched the Summoning Materia tightly. "Ramuh… I need your judgment."

The jolt to her mind preceded the appearance of the Elder Justiciar of Lightning. His appearance thickened the air with the scent of ozone, but there was no bolt of retribution or crackling sparks accompanying him. He merely stood there with his hands behind his back.

"You were observing what was happening from the materia, weren't you?" He nodded to her question. "Then tell me, have I started on that path I feared?"

"I did deign to offer my wisdom if need be, so I would be remiss not to when asked," spoke the sagely summoning. "Let me tell you a story of my time as a mortal justiciar, if I may have your ear?"

She nodded and gave him her full attention.

"Back when I was a mortal, it was rather uncommon for a justiciar to play the role of judge and executioner. Yet, it was such that I became renowned for." He extended his hand and his staff appeared by magic. "In my case, I wielded a staff tipped with a raw, natural Thunder Materia I stumbled upon by chance. If I passed judgment that one was to be executed for their crime, I deemed to carry out the task by my own hand rather than placing the burden on an executioner. Do you know why that is?"

Crimson brought a hand to her chin in thought. There was a point to the story he was telling her, relating to the matter at hand. "Was it because it was your responsibility?"

He nodded his head once and brought a hand to his long, white beard. "I made the call and arbitrated the decision that would lead to someone's death. Therefore, it was my responsibility to see to it myself rather than wash my hands clean of my role in things like most others in my time, and allow the executioner to the one to take a life. By doing so, I was reminded that every decision I carried out held the weight of a life behind it and was never to be taken lightly. The form you see before you is the result of a life spent doing such. "

Though he died as a human, the memories wove into the Lifestream were condensed and compiled into the entity before her. Even if he didn't exactly look as such in life, his sagely demeanor was reflected in how the people remembered him upon their return to the great flow within the planet.

"So, child, I do not believe that you are a monster as you fear, if you are sincere in your claim to take responsibility," he continued. "You believed the circumstances were enough to warrant it and that it would prevent a greater loss of life should he rein on his end of the deal. It was not a decision made lightly, even though you knew that it would alienate you from one whom you call a friend."

"…Thank you," Crimson said, after a pause.

"All the same, should you ever take those decisions involving a life lightly—" He raised his staff forward and luminous lightning crackled at the tip. "—I will also be there to pass judgment by my own hands, for that is my responsibility when I entrusted myself to you."

The message carried. "I understand."

As the summoning dissipated into glimmering motes, she cradled the materia tenderly until the sound of shifting wood from the floorboards reached her ears. It came from beyond the closed door. "Aerith, is that you?"

The door opened, and down came Cloud instead. "She left out to sit outside and talk to her mother."

"Oh…" She sighed, wondering if the fledgling friendship she had been building with her was in ruins now. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough," Cloud said as he walked down the stairs.

"And what do you think?" The thought of hearing his opinions matching Aerith's made her stomach churn and her chest tighten, but she had to ask. "Do you think I went too far again?"

"I can't say whether it's right or wrong either, but…" He hesitated to find the right words. "No one can say that you take things lightly, even when they don't turn out well… even when you suffer the most because you try to do it all yourself."

She bit her lips as he drew closer. The feeling in her stomach hinted at what he was suggesting. "You mean Costa del Sol?"

"I had to carry you the majority of the time you were bleeding out from being shot." He brought his hands to his chest-level and stared down at them. "And then there was Nibelheim, when you went off without telling us and nearly got killed because you tried to do it alone, and then you spent that time in Rocket Town ignoring me. Sometimes I wonder if it's because you can't rely on me because of my memories… or because I'm a clone."

"That's not it!" She walked forward and placed her hands on his arms, looking him in the eyes apologetically. "I'm sorry for all of that, Cloud. It's not you… I know that I do that a lot. I'm trying to do better about it, but these things are easier said than done. If you want me to tell you why, it's…."

Crimson trailed off as she gathered herself for what would come next. Aerith had said she should talk to him about it, and she had given her reasons for not doing so. But, if he felt that she was neglecting him because of everything he'd been through, it was a greater crime to keep it from him. Even if the dynamics changed, it would be better than simply letting him suffer further because she tried to hide it all away.

Her hands slid down his arms to wrap around his palms. "Cloud, I spent all my life since the orphanage training to close off secrets and work like this. I want to be more open with you of all people, but it's hard. And then there's this…."

His hands were guided to her chest. The shirt she wore was all that separated him from the soft flesh just above her heart. It was beating frantically.

"Can you feel it?" she asked, a slight blush on her face befitting her name. "How fast it's beating?"

"Yeah…." His body drew closer to her on its own, as if allured by the rising pulse of life beneath his fingers. "Your heart's racing."

"That's because we're here now, alone," she confessed. "Kunsel said that my judgment might be compromised because I felt deeply about you, but I didn't acknowledge he was right until Nibelheim. I was afraid that it would get someone hurt, so I tried to push you away in Rocket Town."

"Oh…" The surprise on his face offset the normally subdued demeanor he had. "I didn't know that."

She pinned his hands against her heart as she leaned closer into him. Their warmth radiated off one another at mere inches apart. She continued to unravel everything to him. "Cloud, you gave me a chance to become something more than an agent of the Company. You never blamed me for my past, only what I do in the present. I feel like I can become someone better when I'm around you."

" _…I think you're giving me too much credit,_ " he told her softly. But he didn't try retreating from her, even though it would be easy with how strong he was.

Crimson shook her head and her red-hair swayed softly. But she had no words strong enough to convey what she thought about that. Instead, her breathing stilled, her toes pushed her upwards, and her head moved in as her eyes lost themselves in his.

Their lips connected and conveyed what her words couldn't.


	45. Chapter 45

**Another Chapter is here!**

 **AltenativeFutureFan27: Thank you.**

 **Quathis: That is correct.**

 **Kazeshuriken: Yep.**

 **Enjoy!**

The night felt a bit chilly, and was far quieter than Aerith expected from a tourist trap. It must've been because of the Five Mighty Gods decree and the tremors from Yuffie's new Limit Break. She welcomed the quiet as it gave her some time to think.

At present, the last of the Cetra walked aimlessly in thought. Her only company was Mog, nestled in her arms crossed over her stomach as a source of warmth. She'd needed someone to talk to besides Crimson, and the Summoning had been the only one available.

The biggest issue that Aerith had wasn't the fact that Crimson was willing to orphan one of their friends (though it certainly did rub her the wrong way), but the fact that she used her mission as a justification for it, just like Leviathan itself did. At what point would her mission from the Planet become one that required more needless deaths? At what point would she need to do horrible things to some people to save many more?

It would be easy to say that Crimson was the one who made that call. She even declared she would be the one to take responsibility. But that wasn't right, not to any of them. Ideally, they shouldn't have to make such decisions in the first place.

Aerith wanted to at least apologize to Yuffie and her father for not interfering. But, when she arrived outside of the Head Temple that served as the elder's home, she could hear Yuffie talking happily to her father. How could she bring herself to break that up when they were finally getting along?

Her silent walk eventually brought her to a curious scene. The pilot that had accompanied them, Cid, was outside. A long pole-arm weapon was in his hand, the large and curved blade at the tip glinting in the moonlight as he twirled it around in practice drills.

He wasn't unfamiliar with it. That much was clear from how he used it, cleaving through imaginary foes with wide swings, stabbing with sharp thrusts, and maneuvering as though to evade retaliation. While she supposed pilots during war would need to learn how to defend themselves, in the event that they crash-landed in enemy territory, Aerith expected someone who worked for Shinra to use a firearm or knife instead.

After a few more drills with it, he perched the pole-arm into the crook of his bent elbow, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and then lit one to smoke. A thin, long string of smoke left his lips before he turned in her direction. "How long you gonna stand there gawking?"

"I didn't want to disturb you while you were practicing," Aerith said as she took that as a cue to approach closer. "You looked like you knew what you were doing. I take it you had practice?"

"Call it something I picked up in my youth…." He looked up to the moon and exhaled another thin stream of smoke that drifted towards it, as though to reach it. "Coming along with you lot is gonna be dangerous, so I need to get myself back into practice."

"Are you sure you want to?" she asked cautiously, given her earlier thoughts when it came to the members of the party. "It'll be dangerous."

"I'm the only one who can fly the Tiny Bronco, and the runt of the group damn-near killed herself just to get you all in the air again on a promise I made," he told her, a firm tone in his voice. "A man who can't live up to his promises ain't one to begin with. Besides, if that's how far you numbskulls are going to go then you need someone looking out for you."

Aerith noticed that, at some point, his hand found its way to the haft of his weapon. "That's not the only reason, is it?"

Cid's grasp on it tightened. "…I still owe the fat pig and that little shit he squeals to for what happened in Rocket Town. They killed good people, stomped on our dreams, and then got away with it. I can't let that go."

 _Why is it always revenge?_ Aerith couldn't help but wonder as she held Mog a bit tighter against her body. While she did agree that Shinra and those in charge needed to be stopped, and that it would likely require their deaths, the end goal should never be purely for revenge in itself.

"Anyway, what are you doing wandering around at this time of night?" he asked, changing the topic. "Between that look on your face and stuffed animal, you look like a lost kid caught outside after dark."

Mog struggled within Aerith's grasp at that until she loosened her hold, allowing the Summoning to float free. He hovered in front of the pilot and pointed his small arm towards him in warning. "I'm not a stuffed animal, kupo! I'm a Moogle-Rider, kupo!"

Cid, for his part, merely raised a brow at the floating creature for a moment. Then he exhaled, and the ring of smoke left Mog coughing as he tried to fan it away with his stubby arms. Aerith caught the irate moogle before Mog tried to clobber Cid afterwards.

"You brats just keep bringing out weirder things every time I look," he said as she hugged the struggling Summoning closer to her. "It's kind of hard to take the 'saving the Planet' thing seriously with a flying toy."

"Mog is a Summoning, like Leviathan. You should be more respectful to him," she said, gently soothing the moogle trembling with rage. "And what will happen to your assistant? Will you bring her too?"

"The woman causes enough problems as is—you think I'm dragging her onto a battlefield!?" He pulled out his cigarette and dropped it into the ground, snuffing it out with the sole of his boot. "No, she's staying here… the quiet life suits her better anyway."

Aerith felt there was more to it than that as Mog finally stopped struggling and settled down. "Have you talked it over with her?"

"I'll do it before we leave so I don't have to put up her whining." He looked over into the distance before shaking his head. "Anyway, you still didn't answer my question. What's bothering you?"

She thought about how to put it into words before she spoke. "I'm just worried about everything that's happened during the battle. Even if the outcome was good for us, it wasn't how I wanted it to go."

"…That's life for you," he said after a moment, a grimace forming on his face. "We want things in life and we strive for them, but things don't always go the way we plan. Our feelings and goals might clash, or we hit a setback. It ultimately boils down to keep pressing on and hoping, no matter the cost, or if you change your priorities in life. If this mission is so important that you're willing to go against Shinra then you've got to concede that it won't be pretty, but as far as I can tell… every one of you signed up for this by choice, so it's on your shoulders in the end."

"…I suppose so," Aerith conceded. But it didn't ease her concerns at all.

Not a bit.

 **[-oOo-]**

Kunsel and Vincent lingered at the top of an overlook by the Mako Reactor. Night covered them from the eyes of the guards patrolling, and the train itself was slowly emerging from within it. Somewhere among its payload was the Huge Materia, the prize that they sought.

Peering through the lenses of his binoculars, night-vision mode engaged, Kunsel eyed the sole soldier within the heavyweight train engine compartment. It registered that there were no other organic life-signs within it, but he also couldn't see the Huge Materia. "No sign of it in the front compartment at a glance."

"Do you think they've hidden it in one of the compartment coaches instead of the front?" Vincent asked.

"Possibly. We'd better just stop the train and then search for it." Kunsel put away the binoculars and then looked down to his side-pouch. "Nanaki, are you ready?"

The leonine warrior, shrunken down courtesy of a Mini spell using the former Second-Class SOLDIER's Transform Materia, popped out of an opening in the pouch and spoke in a small and squeaky voice. _"Once more, I must state that I am not comfortable with this arrangement. It is… unnatural for me."_

"It's a necessary precaution," he assured him. "Bear with it for a few moments longer."

Nanaki let a low growl rumble in his throat, but said nothing more as he retreated back inside of the pouch. Kunsel zipped it near-shut. Then he grasped his sword and shared a look with Vincent, who nodded.

The moment the train began to pull past the overlook they were on, they acted. The two men clung to the shadows as they slid down the side of the wall. Then they both made a mighty jump towards the train that had begun accelerating.

Kunsel thrust his blade down into the top of the rear compartment as he landed. The blade acted as a brake so that the momentum didn't carry him off of the train, leaving him atop the rear compartment as the wind hammered at his body. Vincent landed with far more grace, using his gauntlet and armored fingers to nail him into place.

Unzipping the pouch and allowing Nanaki to climb into his palm, Kunsel grasped another materia to undo the Mini spell with his other hand. That was when the hatch on the compartment opened, and a mechanical humanoid emerged. It was modeled after a knight armored in crimson-plating, and in its hand was a large sword that nearly rivaled its height in size.

A pale, cerulean light shone within its eyes. The light grew brighter, swelling with power, until it unleashed a piercing Atomic Ray. The laser sheared through the compartment's rear end as they dodged, destroying not only the tracks that it hit, but the support beams along the way, causing a great section of it to collapse behind them.

Vincent leapt above its head and hammered the Wolfmeister with a trio of solid rounds from his gun that caused sparks upon contact with the unyielding iron. It was a distraction that allowed Kunsel to slide under its legs to come out on the other side, rising to his feet in time to jump to the next compartment. Vincent then landed next to him and let loose another barrage of gunfire, while the former Second-Class undid the Mini spell.

Nanaki released a bone-shaking roar upon returning once more to full height, triggering the Enemy Skill Materia. Construct missiles flew towards the armored mechanical warrior, now protected by what looked to be a golden aura nestled within a shimmering blue barrier. They did next to nothing with the Big Guard spell in place, leaving the smoke to roll off its frame as it leapt forward to cut them down.

Kunsel triggered the Gravity Materia he possessed and let the intensified gravity field catch it mid-jump. The armored giant was abruptly pulled back down at the edge of the compartment, clinging to it desperately to continue its directive. However, its sword got caught in between and then into the tracks. The thick blade shattered, but not before causing the last compartment to begin to veer off and jostle violently, on the verge of derailing the entire train as they crossed the section of the tracks that were elevated by the support beams over a steep descent.

 **"Move!"** Vincent said as he leapt ahead and fired down at the latch connecting that compartment to the last two, before they could drag the entire train over the edge. Kunsel and Nanaki made the jump as the compartments finally tipped over and plunged down the long drop to the bottom of the mountain. The crash could be heard over the roar of the wind as the train continued trudging forward.

Then the remaining hatches opened and two avian machines of war emerged. They were a mass of guns in the shape of a bird, thick steel plumes serving as barrels to fire bullets. Curved blades that served as talons, which would cut through whatever they caught, gleamed in the moonlight.

The pair of Eagle Guns flew alongside the compartment, internal computers and programming determining the best course of action. One rose upwards and then angled itself, calculations dictating how to best catch and tear asunder one of the intruders, while the other switched to its rear thrusters and stabilizers to remain aligned as it brought both wings around to open fire.

Nanaki turned and let the Laser spell fly free towards the one preparing to release a hail of gunfire. Ruby beams of light flew towards it, curving as the avian registered the attack and then tried to avoid. Each one hit their mark, sending the war-machine tumbling with every impact and sending it free-falling until it reoriented itself. The second Eagle Gun dove for his unprotected back, bladed-claws aiming to pierce and maim him in the process.

Steel clashed as the talons were intercepted by Kunsel's blade. With mako-strengthened muscles backing his counter swing, he pushed it off into the distance and created an opening for Vincent to give it the shock of its life. A tendril of lightning flew from his armored hand, snaking through the air in sharp angles before smashing into the Eagle Gun. It shrieked in a mechanical voice as its wings briefly stalled and then restarted, working to catch up to the train that had pulled ahead.

Vincent, having reloaded his gun, fired at them thrice. The first and second shots were avoided, but the third clipped the wing of the left Eagle Gun and caused it to spin out of control. He followed up with a Bolt 2 spell that slammed into it like a sledgehammer, sending it spiraling to the tracks. That moment led to it being torn to pieces as it plowed into the tracks and support beams below, its ruined remains scattering about.

Nanaki dealt with the other one using caged lightning. The Trine spell pinned it in place with the imprisoning pyramids as the countless bolts ravaged its systems and inner workings. The moment the spell wore off, the war-machine plummeted towards the ground and out of sight.

Those distractions taken care of, they crossed the top of the compartments and made it to the head of the train. Kunsel broke the lock on the door and wrenched it open, allowing them to enter inside. There, they found one terrified soldier who raised their hands in surrender when Vincent brought his large gun up.

"P-P-Please don't kill me," he said with a tremble in his voice. After seeing the other security-measures taken out, what chance did he have alone? "I'm just following orders, but this ain't worth getting killed over."

"Stop the train," Kunsel ordered. He did so, bringing it to a screeching halt maybe three-fourths to the point where the other two were stationed to take action. When the man turned back to them, Kunsel had him get on his knees and keep his hands on the floor before asking the next question. "Where's the Huge Materia?"

"My orders were to put it in there." The man gestured to what looked like a large, metal case of some kind. It had a combination lock built into it, like a safe. "Heidegger didn't give me the combination to it, probably because I haven't been at this long."

Kunsel's eyes narrowed behind his shades at that. "When exactly did you start working for Shinra?"

"When the Sector 7 Plate fell down," he said. "I was training to become a train operator when it went down, so I wasn't there in person. But there wasn't much for me to do afterwards with nowhere to go, and Shinra pays on-time… even if it means working for that ass."

His brain raced with thoughts, but Vincent asked the main one he had in mind. "Even if that's the case, why would Heidegger entrust someone so green with carrying something this important?"

It didn't make sense. They should have been on-edge given that Kunsel had actively taken the Huge Materia from Fort Condor. The machines they fought were a planned safe-measure, but for them to trust the transit and delivery to a single, untrained person is borderline incompetence. They weren't that understaffed when it came to their military forces—not when they still had some veterans in Costa del Sol.

Vincent lowered his gun and turned to Kunsel. "He's expendable."

The soldier in question tensed at hearing that. "What?"

Kunsel gave it some thought. Then he imbued his blade with the effect of the Gravity Materia and brought his sword down against the case. It barely scratched the thing, even as the entire car they were in shook from the force transferring through the floor.

"It makes more sense that way," he agreed as he attached his sword to his back, using the magnetic holster. "Not only is the case reinforced, but I'm betting the interior is lined with something to cushion it and absorb blunt force. Even if he dies there's no real loss of a valuable asset, and I'm guessing it'll take ages to get the case open without the code."

"What!?" the soldier said again, rising to his feet. Vincent raised his gun again without looking, training it on his head by reflex. He immediately sat back down.

That was when Nanaki hopped to the front of the window and a low snarl left his mouth. "Something's coming."

An aircraft sped towards the train, coming to a stop some distance away above the tracks. Soldiers armed with rocket-launchers slid out, attached to the wings by harnesses connected to their backs as they hung like ragdolls. The lines descended and dropped the grey and blue uniformed men and women, who had helmets encompassing their heads entirely. The moment they touched the tracks, they took aim at the train….

Then they fired.


	46. Chapter 46

**Another Chapter is here!**

 **Kazeshuriken: Of course!**

 **Enjoy!**

Tifa looked down from her position above the waterside tracks, towards the nest with a number of baby Cokatolis sleeping peacefully. The mother was absent at the moment, probably out hunting for herself. But she kept her distance to ensure that she didn't risk waking the little chicks.

Her attention wavered from the fluffy yellow chicks when she heard Barret mumbling. He had been pacing back and forth on the top of the bridge that wasn't in use, due to the set of traintracks there being broken from a landslide in the past, according to him. If the others failed to stop the train, they would destroy the lower bridge themselves so that the train went tumbling into the water.

"Something on your mind?" she finally asked.

A low growl left his mouth. "It's nothin'."

"It doesn't seem like nothing with how you keep moving around like that." She turned to look back, where the Corel settlement was stationed, just beyond the rope bridge that didn't honestly seem like it could support the train. "You're worried about them, aren't you?"

He stopped pacing to stare at her for a moment, looking like he was going to tell her otherwise or to be silent. Then he saw her quirked brow and knew better. He sighed gruffly. "They already had everythin' taken from them once. I can't fail a third time."

"A third time?" She slid down from the perch to the rusted tracks and wood rotting from disuse and weather.

He looked down to his gun-arm and then towards where the new settlement was before he began. "…Corel wasn't a fancy place, a dust-filled patch of dirt surrounded by trees, but it was still home. It was a coal minin' town that had used the mines for generations, but things were gettin' tough since everyone was using Mako now, a change of the times. That's when Shinra  
approached us.

"To build the reactor?" she guessed.

Barrett nodded. "They wanted to buy the mines and the land around it to build a reactor. Between that and the people gettin' paid, we thought things would get easier. The only one who didn't want to do it was Marlene's father, Dyne. He was my best friend and I wanted to back him up, but my wife was ill and her medicine was gettin' expensive. So I convinced him to agree to it and we built the reactor."

Tifa saw where it was going. "And that's when the incident you were talking about at the Gold Saucer happened?"

"Yeah." He rubbed his eyes with his good hand and stared towards the distant settlement. "Some guys took it over and blew it sky-high. The next thing me and Dyne knew, we found Corel burnin' down because of Shinra's troops. They blamed it on a rebel faction and said the people in town helped them get into the reactor."

 _Rebel faction…_ the moment she heard those words, her thoughts went back to what Hojo said about AVALANCHE and Corel. They had been the ones to sabotage the reactor. They had given Shinra an excuse to destroy his hometown, just like bombing the reactor gave them one to destroy Sector 7. That was the second time he failed.

"That day, I lost my wife, my best friend, my arm, and my home. The ones who made it out blamed me for givin' the final push and only thing I had left was Marlene. So I took her with me and eventually got this arm made before headin' out to start AVALANCHE again."

Seeing the solemn look on his face, Tifa gathered her thoughts for a moment. She had known he was a man who sought revenge against Shinra, and even gathered something left him miserable, but to shoulder all the blame… it just wouldn't do. She walked over to give him a pat on the back hard enough to nearly stagger him.

"What was that for?"

"You don't want Marlene to see you like that, do you?" She raised her arm and stared into the red Summoning Materia slotted into her bangle. "Personally, I understand what you feel. I lost everything to Shinra too… but it's not your fault."

 _"It is,"_ he said with a slight snarl. "If I hadn't made Dyne sign over the mines, then—"

She cut him off. "They needed a target and you were the biggest one they could find, that's all. You said it yourself, everyone agreed to build that reactor, and no one could have guessed what would have happened at the time. Shinra poisons with sweet lies, we know that much. If it hadn't been for one reason, it would have happened for another. So you don't have to shoulder all the blame—not for this."

"…It doesn't change the fact that all of that shit did happen," he settled on. "We still lost everythin' that day. And they still stand to lose everythin' again if we don't stop that train from comin' this way."

"Then we'll stop the train if it gets this far," she told him with a shrug. "Not for the people that won't accept you, but because you don't want them to suffer anymore. That way, even if they won't forgive you, you'll know that you did what you could and it won't add to your regrets."

He looked as though he wanted to say something to her for that, but couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. Instead, he let out a small grumbling noise towards her that was too low to hear.

She caught the meaning anyway. "You're welcome."

After that, the night remained silent. That is, until a shadow passed overhead that caught their attention. The muffled sound of an explosion and distant fire and smoke came not even a minute after.

"I'm bettin' that's trouble," Barrett said as they saw more explosions in the air, trying to hit what looked to be a moving flame. It was Phoenix. "We should probably get over there."

Tifa agreed when she witnessed Phoenix being blown out of the air. The bridge that led to New Corel was swiftly smashed as a failsafe, to ensure that the train couldn't get by. Then they ran.

 **[-oOo-]**

Nanaki had been lucky that he hadn't been thrown off upon impact with the ground. That was thanks in part to the summoning trying its hardest to stay aloft by flapping its wings as it neared the ground. The effort had allowed them to survive the fall relatively unscathed with the cowardly Soldier practically clinging to the Undead.

"You can rest now," the Swordsman told the summoning as it warbled on the ground, patting its head. Phoenix dissipated with a somber song, leaving him to blaze with the light of the Limit Break afterwards in tranquil fury. He turned towards the bridge and then swung his sword twice, releasing a wave of energy with each slash that blasted apart the section of the train-tracks their new foes had been occupying.

"That buys us seconds to get ready," he said as wood, steel, and bodies began to fall from the dizzying height. He turned to the Soldier and extended his arm before the coward tried to run, shrinking him down to that uncomfortable size. He then scooped him up and placed him into a reinforced, steel container in his pouch before zipping it shut.

While the bodies that couldn't endure the long fall broke upon the hard-packed ground, the airborne craft that evaded the twin slashes dropped more capable combatants onto their new battlefield with tethers. Among the men and women dressed in blue and grey were what he assumed to be hounds twisted by experimentation to give them feline-like bodies, the prehensile appendage with the spear tip on the end at the base of their skull, and the bladed tail at the end.

All of them reeked of mako, but none more so than the boisterous man who landed last. He towered above everyone else with inhuman eyes that shone in the dark and furrows along his face. In his arms was a massive weapon that seemed to be a melding of a hammer and cannon.

Nanaki's bestial instincts flared in his presence. Everything about him seemed wrong, like a beast wrapped in a man's flesh—no, something even greater than that.

"Who are you?" the Swordsman asked with his sword at the ready.

"I am Azul the Cerulean, of the Tsviets. I have come for the Huge Materia and your lives," he announced boldly and without reservation. Then he gestured and the enemy forces moved. The soldiers took aim and opened fire with their firearms while the Crimson Hounds lunged for them.

The three moved as well. Nanaki released a barrage of Matra Magic on reflex, sending missile constructs at the ground to throw up a veil of dirt and dust to hinder their accuracy. He then followed it up with the Laser spell aimed towards the ranks of the enemy to strike them as the hounds that waded through the veil of dust thrown up were gunned down by the Undead. At the same time, an intensified field of gravity bore down on the large man and those around him as well.

 **"RAAGGGGHHHHH!"** roared the Beast-man who called himself Azul as he tensed his muscles to the point they looked like they would burst through his skin. Then he brute-forced his way out of the gravity field with a mighty leap and chambered the giant weapon he had. The moment that he slammed the hammer-end into the ground, it burst from beneath them as though a bomb had detonated.

The force swept the leonine warrior off his feet and left his bones aching until he caught the scent of mako and heard the footfalls of approaching threats. Two of the soldiers that brandished knives approached him in an effort tag-team him. He responded with a Fire 2 spell, only for the pair rushing ahead to push-off one another and escape the blast-range unharmed. That left both to flank him from two sides.

Nanaki snarled and flared with the light of the Limit Break. The spiraling crimson shroud surrounded him as he lunged, and with the Blood Fang he tore through the body of the first one. Then he turned and let loose a Laser spell to hammer at the other one, following up with another Fire 2 that hit the mark this time.

As the charred corpse hit the ground, he turned to see the Beast-man grinning as he held the Gravity-imbued sword at bay with his larger weapon. Then he strained his muscles further and swung. The sheer force behind it managed to force the Swordsman backwards with a grunt, and the follow-up machine-gunfire from the lower section of the cannon forced him to move.

Nanaki then looked around to see the rest of their foes were dwindling in numbers. The Undead wielded his firearm with deadly efficiency as he executed the last of the Crimson Hounds with a shot to the head. Then he let loose a bolt of lightning to the female soldier getting ready to shoot at him.

The soldier only kneeled, withstanding the tendrils of lightning that wormed over her body, and tried to take aim again. But the Undead had already jumped into the air and landed on top of her, leaving her pinned to the ground. Before she could brute force her way up, he fired downwards twice. She didn't move after that.

The leonine warrior then spied a cluster of three others attempting to blindside the Undead. He used the Trine spell upon them, letting caged lightning ravage their bodies and weaken their mako-enhancements and suits. The Undead used his gun to put them down for good and then turned to Nanaki, giving him a slight incline of his head in appreciation.

Then they focused on the lone survivor of the group, the Beast-man himself.

 **[-oOo-]**

Kunsel's muscles ached from the simple clashes of their weapons. Even Cloud didn't hit his blade so hard that his arms trembled in the wake of the attack. That said a lot about the sheer strength of the man standing before him.

Azul the Cerulean was unbothered when Vincent suddenly opened fire at the back of his skull. The bullets slammed against his tempered skin and broke against it like he was forged from tempered steel. He only returned fire with his cannon, the impact of the shell against the location where Vincent had been erupting in a spray of dirt that nearly reached the sky and obscured the man from view.

He was likewise unbothered when Nanaki pounced and raked his claws against the man's face, attempting to blind those golden eyes surrounded by black sclera. But his stout hand grabbed the leonine warrior by the throat. Before he could squeeze and break his neck, Nanaki loosed a point-blank Fire 3 and the resulting explosion freed him from the fingers….

Just in time for the hammer-end of his weapon to come around. It smacked Nanaki hard and far away. He hit the ground with a pained roar. Something likely broke from either the impact or landing.

Kunsel ran in and swung the Gravity-imbued blade with all his might at the barrel of the cannon, before Azul could fire the heavy-artillery within it and kill the sapient beast as he struggled to get back onto his feet. The impact dented it enough that the round backfired, causing the weapon to blow-up in both their faces. Kunsel had more than a few cuts and scrapes in his strengthened skin, but Azul boasted none.

The giant of a man back-fisted the former Second-Class away and sent him tumbling to the ground. He actually felt that in his ribs, which were either bruised or broken. As he rose to his feet while holding the spot with his empty hand, he glared at the man through the broken lenses of the shades that revealed his own mako-colored eyes.

Twin roars bellowed in the night. The Galian Beast and Ifrit had both been set loose. With feral eyes and bestial rage, they rushed towards their foe with claws that could flay flesh from bones and rend steel.

The madman actually rushed them in turn and purposely attacked them both head-on, a bestial grin coming across his face in the process. That smile didn't waver as both of them attempted to rip him apart in a flurry of swipes. Not even when they both unleashed their flames upon him at the same time, a pillar of fire born of Hellfire and Beast Flare that seemed reached the sky and scattered blackened earth.

The heat was suffocating as Kunsel watched the flames for movement. His stomach nearly dropped as he saw the silhouette of their foe drawing closer. Emerging out of the devilish inferno, Azul the Cerulean looked as though he'd barely suffered minor burns while he lumbered out of the curtain of flames with both beasts in his burly hands.

He tossed those two aside, with Vincent reverting back to normal while Ifrit vanished entirely into motes of light. Those yellow eyes that shone like molten gold then fixed themselves on Kunsel. He gestured for him come next.

The former Second-Class gritted his teeth. He was outmatched and overpowered. He knew that much. The sheer brute-strength that this man exhibited to this point made that abundantly clear. It reminded him of those days when he could only stand back and watch the First-Class SOLDIERs in admiration of their strength and courage.

They existed in a league of their own while he had always been in their shadow. Luxiere felt much the same, only it drove him to act once Zack disappeared with the others. He hadn't been a bad person, only someone who desired to fill the void left behind the others.

Without a doubt, this man would be among the First-Class. So how could a man like this have been off the radar for so long? How could Shinra hide something like this? Just how many secrets did they keep from the world?

Kunsel needed to find out. The truth needed to come out. And he would be the one to bring it to the front. But to do that, he had to survive. They had to survive.

He had to topple the obstacle in front of him. So he called to the power bubbling up in the face of the threat before him. The light of the Limit Break wreathed his body and blade like a teal shroud as he kicked off the ground.

The distance was closed in the blink of an eye before the hulking man could respond. Three strikes followed, leaving visible trails as they carved into him. Azul the Cerulean bled for the first time that night as Kunsel then darted past him to retrieve Vincent's downed form.

" _Hmmm…_ not bad," spoke the man as he brought his hands to the wounds and looked down at his own blood. "Perhaps you would not fare so poorly in Deepground after all."

"What is…Deepground…?" Kunsel demanded. His breathing was labored and his aches had grown even worse after that. "What is your connection to Shinra?"

"If you want answers, you'll have to beat them out of me." He took up a fighting stance. **"Come!"**

Kunsel's grip on his weapon tightened. He sorely wanted that information, but the threat was still too great an obstacle. Nanaki could no longer fight, Vincent was out cold, and his body ached to the point of becoming a hindrance. The man they faced was too powerful for him to overcome alone.

No sooner than he thought that did the earth erupt behind the Cerulean Tsviet. Something massive emerged, tearing down the train-tracks entirely. Dust, dirt, and rubble rained upon him as the looming figure stood right behind Azul, who nonchalantly turned his head around to peer into the source of the deep shadow looming over him.

Then Titan promptly slammed its mighty fist into the man, and the blow was hard enough to make the earth around them tremble….


	47. Chapter 47

**Another Chapter is here!**

 **Quathis: Read and find out.**

 **Enjoy!**

Tifa fought to keep her balance as the earth quaked on her way to Nanaki, Barrett following in her steps at a distance. The massive fist slammed down onto the large man and threw up a plume of dust and dirt, swallowing them both up. She crouched low as she neared him. "Red, you okay?"

He growled with a fervor that spoke of resolve to fight, but his attempt at getting up left him buckling under his own weight. "I will be soon enough."

Heavy footfalls closed in. Kunsel came closer, Vincent's unconscious body over his shoulder. He panted as he kneeled down, set Vincent down, and then reached into his pouch for a Phoenix Down.

The moment that he pressed it against Vincent's flesh, an orange glow swaddled his body and he woke from his unconsciousness. Quickly he sat up and pressed his fingers to his forehead, shaking his head for a moment to clear it. He then took notice of the Nanaki and set towards healing him silently.

Barrett huffed as he finally reached them as well. "What's goin' on?"

"Ambush," Kunsel said, chest rising and falling as he forced himself to his feet. "Trained soldiers, modified hounds, and a man who claims to be from someplace called Deepground. He's SOLDIER, or something close to it."

"Well, he's dead… now…" Barrett trailed off as the dust cleared. The man that should have been crushed was still standing, straining his muscular arms to hold up the massive fist. "Hit'em again, Titan!"

The earth-borne giant pulled back his fist and then entwined his fingers to bring both fists down this time. The impact managed tosplinter the ground as far as the group had gotten this time. The train-tracks near and far were demolished from the force alone.

Yet, before the dust could settle, a blinding flare of cerulean light and raging wind blew back Titan. A monstrous howl shook them down to their bones as the dirty veil dissipated to reveal a Behemoth. Only rather than being a colossal beast of muscle and rage, this one was forged from metal plates, streaks of luminous blue running along them like fissures, with a matching mane that ran along its spine.

Murderous rage carried on its howl as it turned towards the summoning. It let loose a barrage of crystals forged from mako-energy that launched themselves through Titan's massive frame and punctured the summoning full of holes. Then it moved, slamming its heavy body against Titan to bring it to the ground. Merciless fangs dug into the flesh of its throat and then proceeded to pull and tear it out, leaving the summoning wailing as its body began to dissipate.

Tifa's blood froze at the sight of it. All of theirs did. What they faced now wasn't a monster, but a beast that eclipsed both Vincent in his Limit Break and Nanaki. The only reason they didn't die, as it fixed its gaze their way and stretched its maw out to roar before it pounced, was that Shiva sent a wave of biting cold from the materia to beckon her summoner from her stupor.

 **"SHIVA!"** The jolt to her mind gave birth to the regal queen of the frost, who immediately imprisoned the Behemoth in a towering pillar of ice born of magic mid-lunge. It was trapped, but the ice was already riddled with splinters and fissures as it began to writhe and fight against the weight of the crushing cold.

 _"Flee now,"_ Shiva ordered with her voice calm and cool as the snow, despite straining to maintain her icy prison. _"I cannot hold him for long."_

"She's right," Kunsel said as he held up an Exit Materia. "We can't find where the safe fell before whatever monster he's become escapes or reinforcements arrive, and if we die without passing word to the others, they'll be blindsided."

"We need to sacrifice the battle to win the war," Vincent summarized as he stared at the Behemoth. His fingers clenched. "For now."

"I am loathed to admit it, but I have to agree," Nanaki added. "As we are now we cannot prevail."

No sooner than they came to a consensus did the cerulean Behemoth break through the ice. It plowed through Shiva, who tried to erect a wall of ice between them and it, just as Kunsel triggered the materia. Tifa felt herself being displaced from the battlefield in a flash.

Re-materializing near the Gold Saucer, she could hear the Cerulean Tsviet roar in the distance.

 **[-oOo-]**

Heidegger stood at the window of a room within the Deepground, gazing into the darkness with a sense of anticipation. He was awaiting the report from the unit that he had sent to retrieve the Huge Materia from the Corel Reactor. To his annoyance, both Hojo and Scarlet were there as well.

The scientist had attached some type of contraption to his head that had cables attached to some parts of his body. As far as Heidegger knew, they were supposed to regulate the muscular control or some nonsense to deal with the constant twitching and shaking from the electric torture he's been subjected to. Rufus had deemed to allow him to construct it on the premise that having him functional was essential for maintaining his usefulness.

After Sephiroth's rampage, they were the only three that remained who knew of Deepground. Not that bleeding-heart Reeve or Shinra's entitled brat. Only they knew of the den of elite soldiers that lay hidden beneath the main headquarters, along with Reactor 0.

The reactor had been built at the same time as the headquarters, acting as both a personal generator for the building and the facility. The mako that flowed through the reactor was used to experiment and empower fallen SOLDIERs, troops, and anyone they could disappear into an elite fighting force. Even after the Wutai War's end, the facility was still being used to ensure that they would have a fighting force that was unmatched.

However, with the former President's death and lack of personnel, they had been setback from utilizing the resources available to deal with both Sephiroth and the others rats that needed to be crushed under their heels. Now, with Hojo back, they'd been able to begin reconfiguring the control chips to ensure their loyalty from the Restrictors to Heidegger and Scarlet. He was done with operating through middle-men and proxies.

As for the Restrictors, they had been conditioned to serve the current President of Shinra so thoroughly that they could not be compromised with. Thus he had them lured into stasis until Rufus was inevitably removed from his post. That day would come soon enough, and he'd get rid of those meddling Turks too.

A knock on the door drew his eyes from the window. He pressed the button to unlock the door, causing it to slide open. A woman dressed in white while bearing an eye-patch entered, the Tsviet known as Argento. She presented the safe that had been placed on the train and set it down on the table.

Heidegger marched over and unlocked the safe with the proper combination. The moment he did, he was greeted to the sight of a magnificent block of materia. It brought a half-smile to his face before he turned back to the woman. "Give me the full report."

She nodded and began. "Upon receiving notice that the materia had been placed upon the train, the unit set out to intercept it in accordance to your plans. However, the train was stopped midway by the terrorists and the unit proceeded to carry out the secondary plan after confirming the absence of the Ancient. The ensuing battle resulted in the death of the soldiers and beasts, with the exception of Azul, who drove them into retreating while in his Arch form. All evidence of the battle has been removed and visual confirmation of the targets has been recorded through the cameras of the solders' helmet for future use, including one unknown."

Hojo proceeded to take a seat by a computer and went over the footage that had been recorded. He paused it when the unknown man came into view. "It would seem they've awoken an old project that should have been left in its coffin."

Heidegger turned to him. "Is this going to be a problem? We've already got enough work to do in cleaning up your messes."

"Oh no." Hojo chuckled as he pushed his glasses up by the frame. "Rather, this presents a unique opportunity depending on the circumstances."

 **[-oOo-]**

Blood pounded at Crimson's ears as what broke the kiss wasn't resistance, or the desperate need for air in her burning lungs, but the ringing of her phone situated on the table by the map. The abrupt sound caused the seemingly timeless world to move again, jostling both of them out of their brief daze. On reflex, both split apart in surprise and reached for their absent weapons before they caught up with themselves.

Then came the awkwardness. "Uh, so that…." The words were lost amidst the turbulent sea of thoughts that seemed to churn with every beat of her heart. "I…."

The phone rang again, sparing her the need to try and put everything into words right away. She turned towards the phone so quickly that her hair was a half-spin behind before she grabbed it. "Hello?"

The hot, storming sensation in her body quickly cooled when she heard who was on the other end. Crimson sobered immediately, forcing the vestiges of those feelings within her down as she turned towards Cloud again.

"Go and get the others," she ordered, her tone lacking in the uncertainty and confusion from before. It was as if a switch had been flipped, noticeable enough that Cloud caught on instantly that there was trouble.

He ran up the stairs while Crimson paced the room, asking questions that would have to be answered again when the others arrived. Were they okay? Did anyone die? What happened to the Huge Materia?

The positives were that everyone was alive and accounted for. The injuries were manageable and they weren't being pursued at the moment. However, the Huge Materia was lost to the enemy.

That was as far as she got before the others had arrived, including Yuffie. The kunoichi was dressed in a kimono that would seemingly suit her, if not for the inelegant yawn she made. Crimson activated the PHS's loudspeaker function and told Kunsel to explain in detail.

 _"The operation to take the Corel Reactor Huge Materia was a failure,"_ he said first, getting it out of the way. _"Though we managed to board the train, deal with the security measures, and stop it in the middle of being transported, we noticed that there were unusual circumstances surrounding the situation and were forced to retreat."_

"Did anyone get hurt?" Aerith asked.

 _"A few scratches comparatively, but we made it out alive,"_ Kunsel told her. She breathed out a sigh of relief as he continued his debriefing. _"There was a single troop aboard the train, a fresh recruit from the Sector 7 Slums. Apparently he and Lockhart know each other, so she's handling his questioning, but Heidegger arranged for him to transport the Huge Materia alone. No sooner than he stopped the train did it come under fire."_

"This is the part where I was before everyone got here," Crimson added. "Men and women dressed in blue-and-grey uniforms with helmets and shoulder-mounted rocket-launchers destroyed the train without a second thought and then shot them down when they tried to get away on Phoenix."

"A unit of Shinra?" Cloud asked. When he looked to Crimson, she shook her head. She didn't know either.

 _"It would fit given the precautions, but it's not one that I'm familiar with,"_ the former Second-Class said over the phone. _"The soldiers were trained to the extent that they were far more competent than those in Costa del Sol, and their suits were circulating mako from what we could guess by Nanaki's sense of smell. I wouldn't say they were the biggest threats, not compared to their leader, but if their numbers were maybe twice as many as there had been, it's possible that we wouldn't have been able to get away. "_

That proved worrisome. While the numbers at Costa del Sol had been an issue, they were manageable. And the group that went after the Huge Materia were experienced in combat to a high-degree—Nanaki as a hunter, Vincent as a marksman, and Kunsel as a former SOLDIER. The thought that Shinra had a hidden reserve of troops capable of pressing them with few in numbers was more than a little concerning when you factored that in.

 _"And then there was the one who led the assault—a man who called himself Azul the Cerulean of the Tsviets,"_ he continued. _"He claimed to have come from someplace called Deepground and towered over us at nine feet tall, at the very least. I'm certain he had some kind of treatment similar to that of SOLDIER, his durability and strength doesn't leave any doubt about that. But his eyes are a different hue compared to ours and he could perform some kind of transformation into a Behemoth made of steel."_

Yuffie frowned at that. "You mean like Vincent can?"

 _"It feels slightly different, but something is definitely off."_ The one who answered that wasn't Kunsel, but Vincent himself. _"I can't help but think that Hojo is involved in this somehow."_

"The pieces fit," Crimson chimed in. "I mean, if they had an elite unit all this time then why didn't they deploy them to chase Sephiroth or kill us in Costa del Sol? The only thing that's really changed between then and now is that Hojo is back in their custody. He was the one responsible for the initial process with Jenova and Sephiroth."

Leaving him alive was a mistake in the end. At the very least, she should have cut his throat before she got shot. Now her mistake was coming back to haunt them.

"So what do we do about it?"

 _"You'll stay on Sephiroth's trail,"_ Kunsel said, taking over the line again. _"I was the one looking into the Huge Materia in the first place, not you. Dealing with Sephiroth and saving the Planet are what you're supposed to handle. How is it coming with that?"_

Crimson stood in front of the map and looked upon the markings on it that she made. "Following what we learned in Nibelheim, the closest location on the northern continent is the Bone Village from your end, with Icicle Inn being the closest on ours. I guess we can check those two in search of clues once the plane is fixed."

 _"I'll fly to them with Phoenix to confirm it myself so that you don't waste time,"_ Kunsel said. _"You regroup in the Gold Saucer with the others. After I've confirmed it, I'll go looking into Shinra, Deepground, and the Tsviets personally."_

"Are you sure you'll be safe on your own?" Aerith asked.

 _"I can manage,"_ he said. _"Besides, I do have a contact who would be interested in this sort of thing. They have as much of a reason to want to know this as me, so I might be able to wrangle help from them if necessary. Keep yourself safe, Aerith. There's no doubt they'll come after you too after driving us back here."_

"We'll keep her safe," Cloud promised. The line went dead after that, leaving them to contemplate the new information.

Crimson's own thoughts of concern were that something like this could have been hidden from her, even during her tenure as a Turk. If Heidegger had been the one who set it up, based on their suspicions, then it could be explained by his lack of trust in them easily enough. However, there's no way that the former President was clueless about this as well—and he trusted Tseng as far as she knew.

More secrets kept by the company, it seems.

"I'm going back to bed," Yuffie said abruptly as she stretched her arms up to the ceiling. When she saw the look everyone was giving her in the wake of the new, concerning information, she shrugged. "How is this anything new? It doesn't change what we have to do, and worrying about it won't solve anything."

"Brat's right," Cid added. "You numbskulls all decided already to go against Shinra, so no point in gettin' pissy about it because of complications."

"… You're both right," Crimson said, after some thought. "We've come this far already, so there's no point in slowing down because of a surprise. We need to keep to the path we've taken."

Aerith agreed as well with a somewhat hesitant nod of her head. "I'll see if the Planet or Minerva can tell me something new. The Lifestream flows close to the surface here, so I should be able to hear it better."

They began to file out of the room, leaving Cloud and Crimson alone again. The mood prior to the phone call was gone now. It had dissipated and been replaced by a sense of tension that now filled the air.

Cloud was the first to speak. "Now's probably a bad time to talk about it?"

"Yeah, definitely." Crimson sighed as she crossed her arms and leaned against the table. "That's probably going to be the case for a while. I mean, we take one step forward only for another problem to crop up… I am sorry that I just sprung it on you like that. I wanted to clear things up, but I should've been less forward about it."

"It's not that I don't appreciate you clearing things up. It's better than thinking I did something wrong to make you mad. But…" He trailed off looking, for the proper words to say. "I just need some time to clear my head with everything going on."

"I understand," she said. "Whether or not you turn me down, it doesn't change what we need to do. If you say you just want things to go back to the way they were, then it'll be as if it never happened."

"I'll see you later then," he said, turning to go up the stairs.

Crimson watched until he was out the door. Then she brought her hands up to cover her eyes, wondering if that kiss had made things worse in the end. Only time would tell.


	48. Chapter 48

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Enjoy!**

The next day after that call from Kunsel, Cloud sat atop Mount Tamblin and overlooked Fort Tamblin. The group had just gotten through cleaning out the area of the monsters that moved in after the war, though Aerith stated that she felt many uneasy souls of dead Wutai and Shinra forces lingering. After that, Yuffie's father pointed them to a secret base hidden nearby that fed into the mountain and eluded detection during the war.

Cid and Shera were hard at work in getting the repairs underway using the parts from the captured machinery. They'd offered to help, but Cid threw them out. He didn't want to be distracted and, in his defense, none of them were engineers, so they couldn't do much.

After that they split up. Crimson took to exploring the fort for some reason, while Aerith wanted to get someplace closer to Lifestream and took Yuffie with her using Mog. As for Cloud, memories came unbidden as he stared at the fort.

He recalled the events that Zack had gone through here. He recalled Angeal, the Genesis Clones, and Sephiroth. He even recalled Yuffie met Zack here, though she didn't exactly know him by name. When he compared himself to them, he questioned his own strength more than his identity now.

Kunsel mentioned someone with SOLDIER modifications managed to overpower him, which Cloud barely managed to do. It said a lot when Kunsel had far more skill with his sword than Cloud did. His strength was his strongest asset, so if he met this Azul and lost to him in that department, he would likely die and the others would follow after him.

His thoughts went back to the night before and the kiss. Crimson's body was warm, her lips were soft, and he found himself wanting to experience that again. Yet, when he recalled how fragile she was as he picked up her limp body, blood coating his fingers and arms as it left her, he couldn't help but ball his hands into fists.

Before he could give her an answer, he needed to sharpen his sword skills. "Odin."

The jolt to his mind was like a blade as he triggered the Summoning Materia. The flash of light gave birth to a looming presence that exuded uncanny power. Clad in argent armor, yet bereft of mount or weapon, the Fell Knight stood at his side.

"Can you tell me your story?" Cloud asked. He'd gotten the idea from Crimson's discussion with Ramuh. If a justiciar who eventually became a legend served as the basis for her summoning, then a Fell Knight that could cleave their enemies in two with a single swipe of his sword must've been a skilled knight in life.

Odin inclined his head forward. Then he spoke, in a voice that was raspy. "I was once a loyal knight that belonged to a valorous kingdom that has long since ceased to exist. Yet, the throne fell into the hands of the son of the previous king, who knew nothing of morals and the value of life. His acts became… _unacceptable_ in the end, thus I became a Kingslayer when my ideals of justice could no longer be shelved for the sake of fealty."

The plate of his armor shifted as the Fell Knight raised his hand to his chest and then clenched his fist. "The act was met with revulsion. Not because it was heinous to slay the man, but because there is nothing more dishonorable that betraying the throne that a knight swore themselves to. I was forced to flee as my head was sought by former comrades who would not hear my words. And, as I did not wish to die, I slew all that approached me in the process."

It made sense to Cloud, to an extent. Zack's memories were similar, facing the corruption and betrayal, he sought to flee and Shinra pursued. But when it became clear that they would never stop chasing them, he chose to return and face them head-on. The price of freedom was steep on both ends as countless troops fell to the Buster Sword before Zack succumbed, yet the lives lost and bonds he fostered were perhaps the only reasons Cloud was still alive and not captured.

"For years, my loyal mount and I fled and fought to survive," Odin continued. "Every clash of steel sharpened my skill, and every corpse left behind added to my infamy. Thus I became known as the Fell Knight, a man turned demon in the eyes of the people, rumored to be able to slay all that crossed my path while atop my steed. "

"And then you died and it stuck?" Cloud guessed.

Odin nodded. "Thirteen knights from a fledgling kingdom approached me for the bounty, and the battle was _glorious_. Their prowess was unmatched in might and magic, yet I fought on and made each of them bleed. When my body fell under the weight of my wounds and I could no longer move, they vowed to bury my remains with honor before they took my head—a promise they kept when my own countrymen would have not."

He honestly sounded as though he was praising those who killed him. It might have been because it was a different time, but Cloud felt certain he wouldn't have such high words for the people who came to take his life if that happened to him. However, if his prowess with a blade matched the legends, then he was certainly the person to consult.

"I need to be better with my sword," Cloud said. "I can't just rely on brute strength, so I was hoping you could train me."

"Only through combat can one hone their skill," Odin claimed. "I have no qualms with being the one to sharpen your blade, not if it is in service to the Child of the Planet. Whenever you are ready, simply have someone else call me forth to maintain my manifestation as we do battle."

 **[-oOo-]**

Roughly two days later, Yuffie found herself wandering around Wutai now that the repairs to the Tiny Bronco had been completed. Since she was obviously going with the group, she wanted to make sure everything was in order and memorize what she could, since there was no telling when she would be back. She'd already stashed away the excess materia that she had collected in her hiding place, so now she had room to collect even more—in addition to her shiny, new Leviathan Summoning Materia.

She _literally_ had her village's guardian deity at her beck and call… though she probably shouldn't call it out unnecessarily. Not after what happened with her father. She still wasn't sure what to think about the fact that Crimson admitted to her that she would have let it eat him if he didn't keep his end of the bargain.

Fortunately, her thoughts on that subject were shelved when she came home and heard talking coming from downstairs. She cracked open the door to find Cid and Shera inside, the latter of whom she agreed to let stay since someone had to keep the place clean. They were talking to one another in a low tone, but her hearing sharpened enough to catch what they were saying when she concentrated.

"If that's your decision, then I can only remain here," she said. "You will come back though, won't you?"

"Yeah, when all's said and done… listen, about that mess with the rocket launch back then…"

"Yes?"

"I've been doin' some thinkin' since what happened in Rocket Town." He scratched the back of his head for a moment before sighing. "Yeah, I could've been the first man in space. That had been my dream. But when I pressed that button to stop the launch, it all came to an end."

"I'm… so sorry," she said, lowering her head to not meet his eyes. "I know that I've apologized every day since then and it's still not enough, but it's all I can do."

"Quit being daft and let me finish," he said. "Yeah, you made the call for me to continue, but I made the call to stop the launch. That's the choice I made, and the consequences of that was the program being shut down. I lost my dream that day, but when I think about what would have happened if I had gone up to space at the cost of you… "

Yuffie saw where this was going. The signs were all there, yet the gruff pilot was actually hesitating. Seeing the poor woman just standing there, waiting to hear what he had to say, Yuffie decided to take mercy on her and force his hand. "Just tell her you love her!"

Both of their heads turned towards the stairs, where they spotted her.

"This is a private conversation, Brat!" Cid yelled.

"It's my place," she reminded him, grinning. "And I wouldn't need to butt in if you'd just tell her you like her more than anything else in the world. That's what you're trying to say, right?"

"I don't need you puttin' words in my mouth," he said. "I can tell her by myself!"

"Is… that true?" Shera asked cautiously.

He turned back to her and fumbled to find the right words. "I've just been thinkin' on it and, since it's been years now…" He looked anywhere but his assistant and then scowled when he saw Yuffie still there. "How long are you gonna stand there?"

Yuffie did her best not to cackle at seeing him flustered while she closed the door, leaving those two alone now. Even if he didn't admit it, his reaction was more than enough to give it away. There was no more covering that up. Good.

If there was one thing she learned in her time here, it was that beating around the bush when it came to things like that only made them worse. People needed to be clear about what they felt and what they were doing with the people they cared about. Otherwise the issues that came from them would just get worse over time, until they couldn't understand one another. It took Yuffie and her father coming to blows, combined with her near-death experience and his willingness to stand up to one of their gods, before the two could talk about everything without screaming at one another.

The door to the outside opened before she could decide whether or not to use the secret entrance she had to spy on them again. Aerith came in with Yuri behind her. The former had gone with the latter to take a final look over his mother before they left.

"How's your mother doing?" Yuffie asked him.

"She's feeling a lot better," he said. "I really can't thank Miss Aerith enough for what she's done. I haven't seen my mother this active in some time now. It's a relief."

"I know the feeling," Aerith said sincerely. "When my adoptive mother got sick once before, I did everything I could to try and make her feel better. I didn't want to lose anyone else if I could help it. That's when I bought my first Restore Materia from the Wall Market."

"Your mother was very lucky to have someone like you as her child," Yuri said respectfully, before turning to Yuffie. "You're leaving with them, aren't you?"

She nodded. "These guys need me and Lord Leviathan's spoken. Plus, there's a lot more materia out there for us to find, like the one in the cave. "

Yuri stepped forward and then reached into the bag slung over his shoulder. He pulled out something wrapped in cloth and then slowly unraveled it to reveal it was a dagger, with a sheath that had an emblem of their nation—Leviathan curling around a sword. "I want you to have this."

Yuffie knew this weapon. She had seen it mounted on the altar set-up for his father nearly every time she visited his home. "This is your father's, isn't it?"

He nodded. "I talked it over with my mother. We both agreed that it would be best if you carried it along with you for luck."

She hesitated, knowing how much this meant to him and his mother. "Yuri, I can't just—"

" _Please,_ " he said. "I wasn't able to give you anything when you left before, so this time I want you to have it. At least until you come back to us. Please take it."

The insistence in his tone pulled on her heartstrings. She took the weapon and cloth and held it gingerly. "I'll take good care of it until then, I promise."

"May Leviathan and Da-chao watch over you." He gave her a brief hug, one just strong enough for the warmth of his body to reach her skin, and then turned to leave.

Aerith waited until he shut the door before she spoke. "He cares a lot about you. It must be hard on him to let you leave again after so going so long without speaking before."

Yuffie nodded. "Yuri's…" She struggled to put it into terms. The first one that came to mind was 'Best Friend,' but that hug left her face and chest feeling… warm. "I'm just really glad that you could help his mother. Thank you for that."

"You're welcome." The smile she had on corner of her lips slid down to form a concerned frown after a moment of thought on Aerith's part. "I take it that Crimson told you about the second call we got from Kunsel, after he arrived at the Bone Village?"

"Yeah, she told me about it." That discussion had led to the one about her father and Leviathan. "She mentioned that he was looking into a 'Keystone' of some kind to access a temple?"

"The Temple of the Ancients," she said. "Once I knew of the keystone, the memories of the past Cetra in the Lifestream were able to give me insight into it. The temple is the seal that houses the Black Materia, one of the oldest and most destructive natural materia on the Planet. I think that's what Sephiroth is after now."

"Then let's grab it and use it on him," Yuffie said. "That'd take care of our problems, wouldn't it?"

Aerith shook her head. "You misunderstand. The Black Materia will act as a beacon and call forth a meteor from space. It requires a lot of power to activate it, but such destruction will devastate entire landmasses and cause untold damage to everyone and everything on the Planet if it is used _at all_."

"Oh." That ruled out her plan to ask if she could keep it for her collection afterwards.

The last of the Cetra crossed her arms as though to hug herself. "I can't fathom how he obtained the knowledge of it though. No one alive should know of it. Even I only know of it because of my gift to hear the voices of the Planet."

"Maybe that Jenova thing?" Yuffie suggested. "It was messing with Cloud's memories, so maybe it can implant knowledge too?"

"Perhaps." She sighed. "Fortunately, we know where the keystone is. Tifa and the others should be retrieving it as we speak. Once we have it and the group is back together, we'll discuss what to do with it."

 **[-oOo-]**

Elena watched on the television screen as one of the primary targets, Tifa Lockhart, fought in the arena of the Battle Square. So far the woman had won several of the eight matches, and it was looking like she was close to winning the next one. The Turk actually felt a pang of sympathy for the monsters considering she had been on the receiving end of that gorilla-strength in Rocket Town.

But she was also the reason why Elena was here. They had received notice through their intelligence network that some members of the group they were following were located here, and she was dispatched to gather intelligence on what they were doing. Mostly since she was the only one who fit the requirements needed to fill in the opening in the staff, after someone went on a murder spree some time ago.

"First time I've seen someone make it this far," said Tiffany, one of her co-workers. The brunette was snacking as she leaned against the wall next to her. "But you've had your eyes on her for a while, Sam. Anything you want to share?"

Samantha (or Sam for short) was her cover, according to the documents that Tseng had prepared. She was born in the town of Kalm and moved to Junon a year ago to take care of her grandmother. But she needed a well-paying job, so she came to the Golden Saucer. It held up under the background check and her own skills allowed her to get in from there.

While Elena wouldn't dream of being anything other than a Turk, she could safely say that Dio paid _very well._ "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't think I haven't caught the glances you've been giving her when she's at the bar, or with that big cat of hers." She smirked. "Just remember to keep your hands-off. Dio's made it clear she's a special guest of his and he doesn't want us messing around with them."

"Quit teasing me, I already told you I'm into someone else." Elena rolled her eyes to keep her cover, but she winced inwardly. Her perfume was designed to mask her scent from the creature that they passed off as an exotic pet, and she had taken to wearing a wig. But if she was being so obvious that Tiffany, the gossip of the staff, noticed then she was being too careless.

She turned back to watch as Lockhart threw one Velcher Task into another. The giant, green, poisonous monsters writhed to get off one another when she followed up with an Ice 3 spell to leave them frozen. The punch that followed shattered the ice and they stopped moving. The match was over.

"Out of curiosity though, you wouldn't know why she's fighting in the Arena, would you?" Normally the matches were planned ahead of time, so people could place bets and emergency measures were prepared. And so that Dio could make sure all the paperwork was in order, just in case the security bots couldn't get to the participants fast enough after they went down. But this was abrupt all things considered.

"You didn't hear it from me, but Dio made a bet with her over something in his collection," Tiffany said. "Supposedly, if she wins all the challenges, she'll get to borrow it."

"That's… interesting." She made a mental note to send that information along to Tseng in her next report. Whatever it was that they were after; there was no doubt it was something the company needed to check on.

Unbeknownst to her, the message would reach three pairs of ears more than just those of her superior….


	49. Chapter 49

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"So this is it?" Crimson asked as she sat among the reassembled group, minus Kunsel and Cid. The former was on his way to Midgar to investigate the Deepground, and the latter decided to go to sleep, rather than dealing with the 'boring talking' as he called it. To her the Keystone looked like an ordinary sphere of stone that took up the majority of her palm.

"It is," Aerith said. Extending her hand, she brushed the surface with the tip of her fingers. "I can understand it with a glance, like I can with materia."

"Then we're fortunate to be ahead of the curve for once." It was pure luck that Dio had been the one to have it, and was willing to let them borrow it. "Now we need to decide what to do next. Letting Sephiroth get his hands on it is unacceptable."

Tifa offered the first suggestion. "We can grab the Black Materia for ourselves and use it to blackmail Shinra."

"Blackmail them into what?"

"Admitting everything they've done publicly, for one." She crossed her arms as she looked down at the Keystone. "Johnny was talkative before we saw him off. He gave me a lot of insight into what's going on in Midgar and what Heidegger is putting the people who signed up for the program through. He's taking advantage of them for slave wages. It's not right."

"It's not, but to make a threat you need to be willing to carry it out," Crimson said. "Aerith already said that it would only cause destruction on a massive scale, and that's provided you had the energy to use the materia."

"They don't know that," Barret said. "All they know is that everyone's gunnin' for what we got."

"I'm sure by now they've built up a profile on most of us. They'd know that we wouldn't do something like that."

Nanaki took a few steps forward and cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should simply destroy the Black Materia to prevent anyone from using it?"

"It would be the most efficient thing to do," Vincent added. "Without it, Sephiroth can't do whatever it is he has planned and Shinra won't get their hands on it. The last thing they need is another weapon after the Huge Materia from the Corel Reactor."

"I don't think that's possible," Aerith said. "There would be no need to seal something dangerous away if you could destroy it."

Crimson found herself agreeing with them both. Removing it from existence entirely would be the best course of action. But if they couldn't in the past, then what were the chances they could do so now? Then again, if the Temple is secure without the Keystone…

"Aerith, are you sure there's no way to get the materia without it?" she asked again, to be certain. Aerith confirmed that much with a nod. "Then what if we destroy the Keystone instead?"

That caught the majority by surprise, though it was Barret who spoke. "What are you on about?"

"If no one can get to it without this, then it'll remain out of everyone else's hands. Dio will probably be angry at the loss of something he paid so much for, and I hate shoving his generosity back into his face after his doctors saved my life, but we can buy time this way."

"That's working on the assumption that they don't find another way into the Temple," Tifa said. "If we destroy it then all we'd be doing is locking ourselves out. It's better to keep it with us, even if we don't use it."

"And if we carry it on us then we risk the chance that they'll take it from us," Crimson countered. "Right now we're the only ones aware of where it is. If we can't break it then we can toss it in the ocean. Something this small would never be found once it hits the bottom, even with a submarine."

"After what happened with the train, we can't underestimate what they can do," Tifa said to that. "Chances are they'll find some way to track it down anyway and we'll be blindsided."

As they kept arguing their points, Yuffie grew increasingly annoyed by the meaningless back-and-forth. Eventually, she decided to make her opinion known… by grabbing the stone out of Crimson's palm and placing it into Aerith's hands.

"Since the temple belongs to her people and this is her job, Aerith should be the one to decide what to do with it," the kunoichi said. "It's not like anyone else will find it without her or the map we've marked, right?"

Crimson thought about it for a moment before sighing. "… You're right." She turned to Aerith. "It's your mission and your people's artifact. It's your call what we do with it, not mine. Since we're not going anywhere for tonight, you can take the time to decide."

Aerith cradled the Keystone, only giving a slight nod of her head to acknowledge what was said. The group dispersed from Crimson's room after that to enjoy the time they had before they departed in the morning. The only one that remained behind was Cloud.

"You were quiet," she said. "Is something on your mind?"

"Just thinking for a bit," he said. "Not that there was anything I could add there, except maybe you were being a little too hasty in deciding to destroy it. Tifa was right in that instance. If Sephiroth managed to find out about it before Aerith, he could likely find a way that bypasses the seal."

"You might be right." She stretched her arms and legs before sighing. "It's just rare that we've had any sort of advantage after we lost Hojo. It's only a matter of time before something else blindsides us, so I want to make sure we can face them on our terms since our troubles seem to be piling up."

"All we can do is prepare ourselves for when the battles do happen." He turned towards the door and stood silent again, as if contemplating something deeply. Then he turned back to Crimson. "…When's the last time you've eaten?"

"Not for a few hours."

"Then do you want to come with me to get something to eat?" he asked. "We can talk there if things are bothering you that much. I might not be able to help much besides listening, but I've been told it's better than simply holding in all your problems."

Crimson's face reflected her confusion at the offer until it clicked. "Are you… asking me out to dinner?"

"I guess." He shrugged. "I don't have an answer for what you told me in Wutai yet, but I feel that this couldn't hurt."

The admission caught her briefly by surprise given his normal disposition. But the surprise gave way quickly enough and she stood up. "Sure then. I wanted to ask how things have been with your memories as well. You've regained a lot of them since Nibelheim, haven't you?"

"I have." His voice wavered somewhat as he said that. "Some good things. Some bad. But they're mine."

"I'm glad then for that much." She set a hand on his arm while wearing a sincere smile. "Let's go then. You can tell me what you feel comfortable with as we eat."

 **[-oOo-]**

 _'I'm glad then for that much. Let's go then. You can tell me what you feel comfortable with as we eat.'_

The sound of the door shutting was the last thing the bug in the room picked up before Elena felt comfortable enough to conclude that was the end of the discussions. She had gone through painstaking efforts to slip them into all of their rooms, linked to the earpiece that she wore while working. As she strode through the bright corridor her mind raced with the implications.

This was big. They had no reason to suspect that the refuge they took in the Gold Saucer had been compromised. That meant everything they said was likely true.

Leaving aside the fact that the Corel Huge Materia had apparently been taken by a third party, whom they incorrectly suspected to have ties to Shinra, this Black Materia sounded like something they could use to trap both the traitor's group and Sephiroth. She needed to contact Tseng immediately. So she made her way to the private bathroom for employees and dialed his number.

 **[-oOo-]**

 _"'Your report has been received,'"_ Shelke said, parroting the words being spoken over the phone line. She was strapped into a machine that allowed her to perform a Synapses Net Dive and monitor the Turks communication lines. _"'We will prepare an extraction for you and the priority target. Keep your phone on-hand. Tseng out.'"_

As the phone call ceased, Heidegger shifted the cigar in his mouth around in thought at what he had learned. He wasn't worried about the revelation of the Huge Materia being taken since he had personally had the files relegated to Deepground hidden so thoroughly that not even the Turks would find it. But the thought of obtaining the Black Materia and the power it supposedly possessed left him… intrigued.

If the destructive magic it possessed was so great that they were willing to contemplate destroying it, by taking it and adding it to his Deepground forces, he would have unparalleled power. He wouldn't have to keep things underground and could move to the surface, usurping Shinra's entitled brat. And then he could deal with all of these rats nibbling at the base of power he stood on once and for all.

Yes, he needed to obtain it for himself. He could let Hojo work out how to manage to use it safely after that. But first he needed to obtain the Ancient.

She was too vital to let slip through his fingers again. But no matter how often they closed in on those rats, they manage to slip away with her. He needed something to force the Ancient to return to his side willingly—and he knew just where to get that leverage.

Next was the matter of the extraction team. They would need to be dealt with to cover their tracks, as well as that Turk on the other end. She'd outlived her usefulness, as their entire division had, and would be the first to go.

Azul was still being fitted with an inherent Barrier by Hojo, who claimed it could bolster his abilities further. Likewise, Weiss and Nero would remain chained up for the moment. They would be his fallback plan to deal with Sephiroth.

That left one other choice, Rosso the Crimson. The woman was unstable, but certainly capable of killing and desired it as much as she yearned to see the outside. Granting her the opportunity to do both would hopefully reel in her behavior as well—it'd be a shame if he had to put down a valuable asset because she was rabid.

"Shelke, bring Argento and Rosso to me," he ordered. "I have an assignment for you three."

"Order acknowledged," the girl said as she disconnected herself from the machine.

 **[-oOo-]**

Soft laughter lingered in the air as Elmyra found herself in a jovial mood, walking towards her home in Sector 5 with Richard. After some thought and her daughter's surprisingly insistent nudging, she had taken that offer of his to go to dinner. The restaurant itself wasn't too fancy, but the chance to experience foreign cuisine had been something of a rare treat that her taste buds still relished.

She was adorned in a modest green dress with a jacket over it, accompanied with a small purse that had only a few trinkets in it that she could manage with losing, if it so happened to be stolen by chance. Not that it happened often, but she did live in the Slums. Even familiar faces became strangers in the dark.

"It's quieter than I imagined," Richard said. He was walking alongside her, dressed modestly as well. However, she could make out a bulge in his coat from where a firearm was holstered. "And I haven't seen many others around."

"Most of those who are homeless take up residence in the rundown Church when night falls," she said. "Monsters that crop up during then avoid the place, so they've become convinced it's a sanctuary of sorts. The locals believe that the flowers that grow there are responsible."

"That's fitting," he said. "If it keeps them safe until some measures can be taken to deal with the monsters, then it lives up to that role. After all, a church is supposed to be a sanctuary in the end, a place where hope and faith are found."

She raised a skeptical brow towards him at that. "I'm sure you've noticed that faith and hope are rare things down here. Things haven't gotten easier since the Plate Fall, despite what Shinra claims. The only real effort I see being made is the orphanage when I visit, and even then I can't help but have my doubts about its altruistic nature."

On the surface, the orphanage seemed to be above the board when she visited a few times a week. But Shinra was the one who built it. Knowing their role in things, there was never anything good involved below the surface. She was positive that the moment they no longer needed the goodwill it garnered the funding would be reduced or cut.

She sighed. "But enough about them. How are things with Denzel and your mother?"

"They're doing well." He blinked and tilted his head up slightly, so that his nose was in the air. "And I've just noticed that the air becomes richer the closer we get to your home. No doubt due to your daughter's green thumb."

Her smile became somewhat softer upon hearing that. "Yes, the flowers do that. Sometimes it's a blessing, and other times it's a… curse, I want to say."

The choice of words shifted his head to the side slightly, vaguely curious. "How so?"

"It makes me miss her more," she admitted to him. "Every time I catch the scent of clean air and flowers, I recall her face and smile. But she's not there anymore."

"But she does stay in contact, right?"

"Even though she calls me every now and again to let me know where she is and what she's doing, it's not the same. If she's sad about something, I can't hold her and comfort her. If she's happy, I can't smile along with her." She sighed at that. "All I can do is lend her my ears, unable to do anything else besides making sure she has a place to come back to when she finishes."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," he said, the sincerity in his voice loud and clear to her ears.

Elmyra leaned a little closer to him. "That isn't to say I'm not happy for her, before you think otherwise. She's out there exploring the world with people who keep her safe. It's better for her to have that chance instead of living her life entirely surrounded by metal walls and mako… She's meant for great things, after all."

"And what about you?" he asked as they approached her home. "Don't you want to go see the world beyond these walls as well?"

"…Once upon a time, I did." It had been had been so long since she thought about it, but she remembered the talk she had once before with Aerith, before learning of her husband's death. They would have moved to Kalm and lived as a family of three in the countryside. "But my lot in life only goes so far now, and I'm fine with that. As long as Aerith is safe and happy, I am."

"If you want to get out of Midgar, I can make that happen," he said. "Someplace without Shinra's involvement, closer to her. You only need to say where."

The thought of him joking crossed her mind until she saw he was serious. Her hand rose and set itself onto his shoulder gently. "I appreciate the offer, but no thank you. Even if it's not perfect, it's still our home and the memories there are enough."

They loitered there, in front of her house, for a moment. Staring in one another's eyes as something passed between them. But before anything could come of it, the sound of dirt being trodden upon reached their ears from the direction they came.

There was a woman standing there, in a white uniform of military design with streaks of luminescent blue flowing along the sleeves and collar. Her dark hair framed her face with what looked to be a crown, and one of her eyes was covered by an eye-patch. There was a sword on her back.

Richard stepped forward and reached for his weapon, only to crumple to the ground next to her with a pained sound and a bloodied wound on the back his head. Elmyra kneeled down to check on him when the air flickered as a small person appeared and extended a hand between them. A second later, a blade of energy emerged from a handle of some kind to act as a divider between them, the bottom of which had bloodstains on it.

Elmyra didn't focus on the weapon mere inches from her head, the intense glow illuminating her face and ever-present hum of electricity in her ears. Her attention was on the fact that the one holding it was a little girl that had light-blue eyes with an unearthly glow about them. "So Shinra's gone so far now to induct children?"

The girl with short, red hair and pale skin said nothing to that. Instead, the other woman approached them. She stopped short of the three of them, hands behind her back and a calm air about her that belayed the steel on her back.

"My apologies for intruding on your evening," she said. "However, we have orders to take you into our custody, Miss Gainsborough. We are authorized to use as much force as necessary to accomplish that."

"If it's just me you're after, leave him out of this," she said firmly. "I'll come quietly."

The child turned to the one-eyed woman, who nodded her head. Elmyra's chest loosened as the child put her weapon away. "He needs to see a doctor."

"The wound is shallow and the skull isn't cracked," the one-eyed woman said. "He'll be in pain, but he'll live."

"At least wrap the injury and put him in my home then," she insisted. "He's done nothing to warrant being harmed in the first place, let alone leaving him out here on the ground."

The woman looked over him for a moment and something in her eye flickered. She then turned to the girl. "Shelke, see her to the extraction point. I will be there shortly. If a report is requested before I have returned, leave out the… unnecessary details."

"Very well." The girl nudged Elmyra to go forward. "Walk now."

She did so and was led away from her home, unsure if she would ever see it again….


	50. Chapter 50

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The soft mattress and sheets molded around the last of the Cetra as she laid flat on her back upon it. Her slender hands were cradling the Keystone, emerald eyes fixated on it as information poured into her mind. There was a connection to it that she felt strongly about, despite the fact that she never once laid eyes or was even aware of it until recently.

The choice she had to make was a heavy one. Would they get rid of the Keystone or would they claim the Black Materia for themselves? Both sides made valid points when they had discussed what to do.

Her thoughts drifted from the subject when she heard her PHS ring and looked over to the nightstand. She picked it up and looked at the number. It was her adoptive mother's. If Aerith remembered correctly, she had a date tonight with a man she met not too long ago.

Aerith had been slightly pushy in getting her to agree to the date, but only because she could tell her mother was fond of the man from their limited interactions. That was a good thing, given that she was home alone now. Her adoptive mother deserved to be happy, and if someone else could give her that then Aerith would happily give them her blessing.

She held the phone up to her ear after picking up. "How was your night, Mother?"

The voice that came from the other end wasn't Elmyra's. " _That really depends on you, Ancient._ "

 _No… no, please no_ , Aerith silently pleaded as her chest grew tight and a weight plummeted into her stomach. She recognized that voice from Costa del Sol. It was Heidegger. The man who'd nearly killed her friends and captured her was calling from her mother's number.

"Where's my mother!?"Aerith said in a panicked tone as she rose off the bed. "What have you done to her!?"

" _She is unharmed at the moment. But how long she stays that way depends on you,_ " Heidegger said. " _You've given us a lot of trouble and I am feeling less than generous, but I am not unreasonable. So long as you comply, no one will suffer needlessly._ "

Aerith took a forceful, staggering breath as her fingers tightened around the phone. "What do you want?"

" _In approximately thirty minutes there will be a small aircraft landing outside of the Corel Settlement,_ " he said. " _You will be on it and will bring that Keystone to lead us to the temple where the Black Materia lies._ "

Her breathing hitched. "You don't know what you're going after. That materia is dangerous."

" _If I wanted your opinion, I would have asked. Be outside the Corel Settlement in half-an-hour. If we see any of your companions, your mother will suffer for it. Am I clear?_ "

"… Let me speak to her first," Aerith said. Some small part of her was hoping, pleading to Minerva that it was a lie he'd taken her. "Once I have, I'll go without telling anyone. But I need to know she's still alive before and after I do this."

The phone line clicked and the amount of ambient noise increased. She could hear him telling someone to speak, so Aerith figured that he must've put it on speakerphone. When no response came, Aerith spoke first.

"Mother, are you okay?" Aerith's voice was heavy with concern as her heart stilled. "Please, say something. I just need to hear that you're okay… please?"

" _…I'm fine, Sweetheart,_ " Elmyra said over the line. " _Don't worry about me._ "

Aerith exhaled her held breath and the regret held back by her fleeting hope came rushing forward. "I'm so sorry! I didn't want you to be involved in this!"

" _Aerith, do what you think is right. I'm not—_ " Before she could finish her words were cut off and replaced by muffled sounds. They'd gagged her.

" _Thirty minutes, outside Corel. Alone._ " Heidegger warned a final time. Then the line went dead.

Tears began to sting Aerith's eyes as she pressed the phone nestled between her fingers against her forehead, as though to pray. Heidegger had taken the woman who raised her after the death of her birth-mother. She couldn't lose Elmyra to Shinra too, but handing over the Black Materia would put the entire Planet in danger.

" _What do I do?_ " she asked quietly. " _Mother… Zack… what do I do_?"

No voice reached her ears from the Lifestream, only the hollow silence as she began to weep at the conflict between her duty and her family. Yet, for a brief and fleeting moment that spanned a heartbeat, she felt there was a gentle pressure weighing on her shoulders. Like a set of comforting hands.

Resolve found purchase within her as Aerith made her decision. She drafted a letter telling the party what was happening and would leave it here for them to find, since they wouldn't allow her to leave if they knew. Shinra wouldn't kill her since she was too vulnerable, so she begged them to save her mother instead of her in the writing.

Then she took off all of her equipment and materia. The White Materia that rested in her hair, a treasured possession of her people given to her by her birth-mother, couldn't be allowed to fall into Shinra or Hojo's hands. She could trust the people who accompanied her to this point to hold onto it, so long as Sephiroth didn't get his hands on the Black Materia.

That done, Aerith departed in silence towards the meeting point.

 **[-oOo-]**

"So they blamed you for what happened to Lockhart?" Crimson asked, sitting across from Cloud at a small table. The Golden Saucer had a surprisingly wide-selection of food for them to choose from, with her choosing to enjoy a light soup and bread as she listened to Cloud speak of his childhood.

In specific, he recalled how he struggled to get along with the other kids in Nibelheim. Eventually he saw them as far more immature than himself, probably due to being a single child living with only his mother. Tifa was the person he was closest to as a child, having been neighbors with her family.

However, when her mother died, Tifa tried to climb the mountain under the belief that she could see her again and Cloud accompanied her. The bridge snapped and the girl fell into a coma. It was lucky that neither died, but it seems Cloud took the lion's share of the blame.

"Yeah," Cloud said. "I probably didn't help things with how I acted back then. But things between me and the others only got worse after what happened to her. I decided to leave for Shinra when I was just above the age of acceptance to join SOLDIER, but things didn't work out. I was ashamed to show my face to the others when I returned as an infantryman after that."

 _And then Sephiroth snapped and went on a killing-spree_ , went unsaid. Neither one wanted to bring that up at the moment. Nothing would be gained from it. Still, it was good that he was regaining more of his childhood memories.

"You should hold onto those memories, Cloud," she told him. "Those are yours alone, and not something Jenova can take away or manipulate. Let them be your anchor if Sephiroth tries to manipulate you through them again."

Cloud closed his eyes, leaving his expression pensive as he gathered those thoughts. While he did so, Crimson found that the brief pause in the discussion gave her time to picture just what Cloud was like as a child. It was different than what she expected, but given everything he'd gone through she imagined it played a large part in shaping his current persona.

Cloud's eyes opened after his moment of reflection and he addressed her. "What was it like for you?"

Crimson blinked. "Hm?"

"Growing up, I mean," he clarified.

"Hmm…" She stirred the soup with her spoon in thought at how to answer that question. "In all honesty, there's really not much to my past in general. I grew up in an orphanage before being inducted into the organization and undergoing training in my youth. "

"Younger than I was when I left Nibelheim?"

She nodded. "The company usually makes it a habit of searching for people with certain skills and behaviors. Age stops being a factor when someone with exceptional talent is found. And very few people with happy families are capable of doing what's required of us, but orphans are easy targets since they've all but been abandoned by society. Careful words and just the right amount of attention will have them buying into what they're told as long as you make them feel wanted."

When they wanted her to join, they told her she had talent and wanted to nurture it so that she could make things better for everyone through the company. For Crimson those words were something that held a lot of weight. She put her heart and soul into the training and took to it exceptionally well.

"Since they got to me early, I was the youngest to join," she continued. "But I didn't really didn't trust anyone until the other members managed to loosen me up somewhat. There were more of us back then, all from different walks of life and personalities. But they went into exile sometime ago."

Their help would be useful, all things considered, but she didn't know where the others were now and didn't have any way to contact them either. When Tseng burned their records to allow them into exile under the pretense of being KIA, he'd done so well enough that she couldn't pick up a trail even if she wanted to. Whatever life they were building now free of their shackles to Shinra, she imagined that it was probably something more lax than what she was doing now.

She forced away the meaningless thoughts on the other exiles to focus on the conversation. "Cloud, have you given thought to what you're doing when everything is over?"

"You mean after we've dealt with Sephiroth?"

"Yeah." Their journey couldn't continue forever after all. They'd deal with Sephiroth, but then they wouldn't have much of a reason to travel together. "Having something waiting for you at the end will act as a motivator to push you forward. I have a lot to make up for, so I was planning to help Aerith for some time. What about you?"

Cloud crossed his arms and lowered his head, eyes furrowed as he contemplated his future beyond their current mission. Crimson hoped that it would involve her in some manner, but he already said he didn't have an answer for what she told him before. Likewise, it wouldn't be fair for her to expect him to return those feelings in the end.

Before he could think of anything, Yuffie ran up to their table. There was a distressed look in her dark-brown eyes. "Aerith is gone!"

"What do you mean?" She handed Crimson the letter that Aerith had written. Her stomach dropped as she read it, and pieces started falling into place. She turned to Cloud and handed it over to him, giving him a second to read.

His furrowed eyes turned angry. "Damn it. They're holding her mother hostage."

"Cloud, you go find Lockhart and Nanaki. See if you can pick up her trail." Crimson rose to her feet and then turned to Yuffie. "Go find Vincent and have him meet me in my room. Tell the other two to load up the plane with what we need and Aerith's belongings. Have them do it without attracting attention."

"Okay, but what are you going to do?" Yuffie asked.

"The only way for them to know about the Black Materia and Keystone is for them to have overheard us in my room. Nanaki and Cloud's senses would have picked someone up if they were close. That means a bug was setup. If I find it, I can determine if the one who did it is still around."

That said, she made her way back to the room at a brisk pace, thinking on the contents of the letter while dialing Kunsel's number on her PHS. She was halfway there when he answered. "Aerith's mother was kidnapped."

" _I know,_ " Kunsel said over the line. " _My contact was with her when it happened. He was knocked out after seeing a woman whose appearance makes me believe that she's part of the Deepground. It seems the theory of it being involved with Shinra is panning out._ "

"I bet Heidegger's acting on his own again," Crimson said. "Reno mentioned Gongaga hadn't been a target for the Turks, and Heidegger hates that division because they aren't completely subordinate to him."

" _And the lack of troops would likely encourage the use of hidden assets,_ " Kunsel added. " _Hojo would be necessary since he's the foremost expert on the procedure for SOLDIERs. Neither are well-received by Rufus at present either._ "

"We can leverage that information later, but we need to focus on the Gainsboroughs now." Letting them take Aerith was unacceptable and they were too far from Midgar. Kunsel was already there and he had his ways of infiltrating places. "Can I trust you to save Aerith's mother while we go after her?"

" _Yeah. I'm on it._ " The line cut there with no more to be said as Crimson entered the room and began to search for where the bug had been placed. She was expecting some level of professionalism to be behind it, despite their laxness, so she ignored the obvious places for the moment and started where she would place them. She got it on her fourth try, nestled within the power outlet, behind the covering and hooked into the building's power source.

The fact that it was linked into the power-supply meant that it was for long-term observation. The overall construction and design was familiar. And, given that it had a short-range transmitter, which meant their spy had to be in the facility.

Vincent silently arrived in the room and crouched down next to her, running his eyes over the construction. Crimson didn't doubt he'd come to the same conclusion as she did. They then exited to the room, where they ran into Cloud, Nanaki, and Tifa.

"Any luck?" she asked.

"She's gone," Cloud said. "We followed her scent trail until we reached the point where it ascended. They've taken her."

"I also picked up numerous scents reeking of mako," Nanaki added. "They were similar to that of our assailants a few nights prior."

"We found a bug hooked into the power supply," Crimson said. "The placement makes me think it was planted by a Turk, but that division rarely cooperates with Heidegger since its part of a different chain of command from his, unless ordered by the President. And Kunsel says that he's on the outs with Rufus. That means either someone is going behind Tseng's back or they've been spied on somehow."

"That's not important right now," Tifa said. "What matters is getting Aerith back. We need to go now."

"The others are working on getting the plane up," Yuffie said as she entered the hallway from what was Aerith's room.

"But if we leave without figuring out the spy, we can't come back here and lose one of our safe havens," Crimson said. "It has to be a member of the staff, but they must be wearing a disguise or we would have recognized them by now."

Vincent opted then to speak. "There was a faint scent on the bug that seemed fragrant." Crimson shot him an inquiring look. "My sense of smell isn't on par with Cloud or Nanaki, but it is sharper than most. If Nanaki can pick it up then we can track the scent."

 **[-oOo-]**

Tifa walked alongside Nanaki as she made her way through the Golden Saucer in search of the spy. Following the trail of the perfume was easier said than done given the number of people around, and they were in a hurry at that. Along the way she had to occasionally flash a smile or wave at someone who had seen her in the coliseum to earn the Keystone.

They came to a stop at the Terminal Floor, when a woman dressed in an employee's outfit with brunette-colored hair neared and Nanaki's head jerked towards her. Was it her then? Her body posture didn't seem hostile and she didn't seem like she was getting ready to run away to avoid being caught.

Tifa called out to her to be certain. "Pardon me, but can I have a minute of your time?"

"Oh, if it isn't the Battle Square Champion?" the woman said, willingly approaching them. "What can I do for you?"

Tifa flashed Nanaki a quick glance, who shook his head. It wasn't her. But she had at least come into contact with their spy if there was a hint of the scent lingering on her. "Do you know an employee that may have been observing me or my friends while we've been here?"

The woman grimaced. "Oh… this employee didn't cause you any trouble, did she? I told her to not bother Dio's guests, but she's new and—"

"No, no," she lied. "I… just wanted to ask her what perfume it was that she wore. My pet seems to like it and has been trying to track down the scent. I don't think he'll settle down until he finds the source."

Nanaki turned to her with a slightly raised brow in annoyance, but said nothing. He didn't like being treated like a pet, she knew that much. But that was the cover they'd gone with while here and if it works then it works.

The woman didn't seem to notice Nanaki's irritation as she reached down to pet him on the head before pointing towards the entrance of the Event Square. "She's in Event Square alone, doing a bit of extra work after that last play."

"Thank you," Tifa said before walking towards that entrance along with Nanaki. When they were out of earshot she apologized. "Sorry about that, Red. I had to play it up."

"I shall tolerate it for the sake of retrieving the Shamaness," he said. Then he sniffed the air and nodded. "The scent is indeed more concentrated this way. Send the message to the others."

She pulled out her PHS to send word to the others. The sooner they wrapped this up, the sooner they got back Aerith.


	51. Chapter 51

**Another Chapter is here!**

 **The lazy stalker : Thank you**

 **Enjoy!**

Elena had only just finished cleaning the stage when she received a call from her superior. The extraction team was in place, a location set not far from there and keyed into her Exit Materia. It was time to say goodbye to her brief but gainful employment at the Gold Saucer after she made contact with the Ancient and spirited her away.

That was when static filled her brain, white noise that artificially shredded her ability to concentrate so fiercely that she ended up dropping her broom and nearly doubling over. It was the effect of a Seal Materia. The sound of hard foot falls reached her ears and she looked up in time to see the red beast with a flaming tail rapidly approaching, baring its fangs. She had no doubts now that her cover had been compromised.

Unable to use her Exit Materia as the beast lunged for her, Elena grabbed the hem of the curtain. She yanked as hard as she could to pull it from the clasp anchoring it above, causing it to fall down as she threw herself to the side and fell into a roll. The beast ended up tangled in the thick fabric, buying her precious seconds to spring up.

Her eyes then tracked more movement as the blonde swordsman and long-haired terrorist closed the distance. She roughly brushed her hand over her skirt, dislodging a specialized flashbang grenade onto the ground. There was just enough time for her to close her eyes tight, cover her ears, and jump back before it went off.

The explosion left a slight ringing in her ears and the flash that reached behind her closed eyelids left floaters in her line of sight, but the two closing in had stumbled over the seats in their blind charge. The fake SOLDIER and red beast, which had nearly managed to free itself, were the most debilitated from the flashbang due to their enhanced senses. They felt the effect multiple times over compared to a normal person, which was why they were the slowest to rise while the long-haired terrorist was getting back up. Elena followed up with a canister attached to her upper thigh by a band, pulling the pin and tossing it towards the latter.

A thick plume of tear gas burst from the canister to blanket the area as she fled for the back exit. Then her foot caught something and she tripped, falling forward and hitting the ground with a loud thump. Looking back, she saw that a wire was strung across at ankle height. Those three weren't alone.

 **"Shiva!"** called out a raspy voice choked with tears and coughs from behind her.

A bloom of frost and biting cold encompassed Elena afterwards. Everything went white as her body felt rigid and trapped, warmth and strength being sucked out of her body with every passing second. Then came darkness as her consciousness faded.

…There was a blink when Elena felt a jolt of pain across her cheek. She shot awake, eyes opening to find that the traitor was in front of her. On reflex Elena lunged for her, only to be stopped by something pinning her into place and her wordless cry of surprise being muffled.

She looked to see that they had buckled her into what looked to be a plane, a gag of cloth over her mouth, and her wrists were bound behind her back by rope that gnawed into her skin. Though she had her legs free, she doubted she'd be able to get away without any of them noticing.

"Now that you're awake, I'm going to remove your gag so you can answer a few questions," the traitor said. "Don't do anything stupid. I've already gone through your clothes to find everything you had hidden and the others you used that tear gas on are just looking for a reason to end you."

Realization set in for Elena. She was going to be interrogated. Despite having seen the end results of what had been done to Hojo previously, Elena gathered her courage and stared defiantly at her capturer as the gag was removed. "I won't tell you anything, no matter how much you torture me!"

The former Turk ignored the words as she pulled out a sheet of paper with writing on it and held it up to Elena's face. "Heidegger has kidnapped Aerith's mother to get the Black Materia. I know Tseng better than you do, so while I can see him pulling a kidnapping off, there's no way he'd let Heidegger be the one to make the call to Aerith given how long he's known her. When I take into account this was after I checked your phone log, I can't help but think that you're working for him rather than Tseng."

The traitor of their group was daring to accuse her of treason. Elena bristled at the accusation and could barely keep her voice in check. "I'm not a traitor like you!"

Red hair shifted as the traitor tilted her head, eyes fixed impassively on her. "…I see. You really didn't know. That means either Heidegger has some way of monitoring the phone lines or has bugged Tseng's phone."

Elena's mouth snapped shut when she realized she'd given away something to her enemy. Her eyes went over to the bracer around the traitor's wrist and spotted the materia within it. Of course, that mastered Sense Materia Reno mentioned she prized so much.

Continuing on, the traitor removed the paper from Elena's view. "In that case, Rufus probably doesn't know either about that Deepground faction that took the Huge Materia. He really is moving on his own with no oversight. That's bad…"

She trailed off as the hatch of the plane opened. The grizzled pilot who was in Rocket Town climbed into it and gave Elena a spiteful look before taking his seat in the front to start checking over the instruments. Ignoring him, the traitor turned back to Elena and continued asking questions.

Elena didn't say anything else. She couldn't risk blundering again. Resolved to keep her mouth shut even if they tortured her, she remained silent until the pilot turned around in his seat towards them.

"We're good to go," he said. "You got the map?"

The traitor reached down for a moment before pulling out a map and handing it to him. "I'll go get the others. You start it up."

"…What are you going to do to me?" Elena asked hesitantly upon hearing that.

"For now, we'll be bringing you along until we have some use for you," said the traitor, pulling a bottle out of her pocket and pouring the contents on the cloth used on Elena as a gag. "I've already told Dio about you, so you don't have this cover to use again, and killing you here would cause more problems than anything else."

Elena leaned her head back as far as she could as the hand carrying the cloth neared. "Wh-what is that?"

"Tranquilizer." She forced the cloth between Elena's lips and tied it around her head. "It's a cheap workaround for a sleeping agent, but we're in a rush. Without a stimulant or adrenaline it'll keep you down long enough to avoid causing problems."

Though she valiantly resisted the effect of the drug, Elena felt panic setting in as her pulse and thoughts slowed from the liquid soaking the cloth leaking into her mouth. The world split into three and began to spin in a tight circle around her as she grew tired and numb. Darkness claimed her for a second time that night.

 **[-oOo-]**

The call refusing to connect when Tseng tried to reach Elena's PHS was the first warning sign that something was wrong. She never turned off her PHS to avoid the risk of missing a call from him. Trying to activate the phone's GPS locator proved ineffective as well.

The second warning sign was when he tried to contact the extraction team to receive an update from them. There was no response, no matter how long he waited. That boded ill on numerous levels in the grand scheme of things.

It was possible that the extraction had been compromised by the group she was sent to spy on. But there was an unsettling feeling in his chest that something else was amiss. He needed answers, so he called Reno and Rude into his office.

"You wanted to see us, Boss?" Reno asked while Rude stood next to him like a silent sentinel.

"Agent Elena isn't responding to her PHS and I can't contact the extraction team," he said. "Rude, I want you to go the location of the extraction and search for any sign of what happened to them. Arm yourself well, I suspect foul play. Reno, I want you to remain here and look into any signs that may indicate we have another leak that could give away the departure of the extraction team. Report your findings to me. I'm going to look into Elena's disappearance myself and retrieve her if possible, if I do not report back immediately go see the President."

Their orders given and the two departing to their tasks, Tseng made his way to the armory with a traveling-bag and stopped at a wall with a panel to punch in a code. It caused the wall to rise and reveal a set of equipment exclusive to the current head of the Turks. Among them was a tracking device that he had privately commissioned.

Unbeknownst to the others, there was a sub-dermal implant placed into all of the Turks on Rufus' insistence, as a safety measure to ensure that no one else could flee and cause as many problems as former agent Cissnei had. There could be no more traitors in their rank. Since the standard method of using the PHS' GPS was no longer an option, either due to being deactivated or the phone being destroyed, he would rely on it instead.

The moment he powered it on, he caught her signal. It was on the move to the south, far from the location where she had last called. The implant also monitored her heart-rate and showed a slowed one, meaning she was alive but inactive. They hadn't killed her yet, which was something to be grateful for at least.

The location and information in the palm of his hand, he loaded up the traveling-bag with everything he could think of that would be required for Elena's retrieval and dealing with her assumed captors. Then he boarded an aircraft and set off after her as quickly as possible.

 **[-oOo-]**

Surrounded and alone, two contradictory feelings, encompassed Aerith as she sat in an aircraft that flew through the veil of night towards the south. She was surrounded by armed men and women dressed in uniforms, with the only one that seemed to stand out among them being the one dressed in silver and an eye-patch next to the pilot. Their presence left her uneasy, more so knowing who they worked for.

Gazing out of the window, the dark seas below gave way to land as they neared the location of the Black Materia. She could feel them getting closer through the Keystone cradled in her hands, softly exuding gentle warmth that was pleasant to the touch. The artifact could tell that it was returning to where it belonged.

As the shore and grassland gave way to a lush jungle with a thick canopy, the aircraft seemed to grow unsteady. Aerith heard the pilot say that they couldn't get closer without the aircraft spinning out of control, which made their original plan to drop down using lines from the wings impossible. So they turned around and touched down outside of the jungle. They would have to walk the rest of the way.

The moment that Aerith set foot onto the ground, she felt a strong pulse of life flowing through the land. The Lifestream flowed through it at a healthy rate, similar to Wutai. No, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that it was stronger.

Her musings were cut-short as the calm yet authoritative voice of the woman with an eye-patch reached her ears. "How long until Rosso's unit arrives?"

"She's confirmed that her team has completed their objective and is en route," another one of the troops answered. "I have informed them of the strange disruptions hindering flight above the jungle."

"Then you and two others will remain here to await their arrival," she said. "The rest of us will proceed ahead and create a path towards the structure for the others to take. Remain in contact at all times and notify me of their arrival or any unexpected complications."

"Yes Ma'am!" Her orders given and being carried out, the woman rounded up the rest and Aerith. The last of the Cetra was placed in the center of the formation that they formed into as they cut their way towards the ziggurat that stood in the middle of the jungle. It left her unable to flee, not that there was anywhere to flee or any chance of her outrunning them.

However, the formation also served to keep her safe. That much was evident when an insectoid monster that was roughly her height broke through the canopy and lunged for her with an inhuman chittering. It was summarily cut down, as were the others that made a vain attempt at attacking them for trespassing through their territory and out of hunger.

The ziggurat grew increasing larger as the sun began to rise over the horizon, marking the passage of time as they walked through the woodlands. It was a towering monument that managed to weather the passing centuries, protected by the jungle itself that seemed to grow increasingly hostile as they neared. It was likely for that reason it remained undetected for so long in the first place.

"…May I ask you something?" Aerith asked the leader of the unit, breaking the stalwart silence of group as they pressed closer to the ancestral site like machines.

The woman turned her gaze towards the last of the Cetra. "If it's a break then you'll simply have to endure until we've arrived at a more secure location. Sparing one of the men to carry you would also jeopardize your safety."

"It's not that." Though she certainly could use a moment's rest, after spending what felt like hours walking briskly through the uneven terrain. Her feet were aching. "I wanted to ask why you're doing this."

"We're doing it because we were ordered to. It's as simple as that."

"But is that why you joined Shinra in the first place?" Aerith asked. "The SOLDIERs that I knew all joined to protect the people, but the Black Materia inside of the Temple is meant to cause nothing but pure destruction if it's used. It's something that can only hurt others, rather than protect them."

"…If you believe that then you are painfully naïve," the woman in silver said after a moment. "Then again, such a saccharine view befits someone who grows flowers quite well in the desolate land that composes Midgar."

Aerith frowned upon hearing that. "What do you mean?"

The woman's tone grew firm as she continued. "I'll say this only once so that you do not bring it up again, but such views are not shared by we of the Deepground. Unlike those who willingly join and are allowed the illusion of using their strength for helping people, we conscripts were never trained under the illusion that our strength existed for anything other than the will of Shinra. Anyone who thinks otherwise is quickly culled, either through being denied the mako needed for our bodies to continue to function or being executed by the Restrictors—unable to fight back due the chips implanted within us. "

So they only existed to act when the company told them to, restricted to an existence where they can only be used as living weapons. Their world was nothing but violence and blood. "That's a really sad way to live."

Her pity didn't go unnoticed by the others. And it no doubt bothered her escorts, given the way some of their grips on their weapons tightened.

"You are free to think that if you wish, but I would suggest that you come to terms with it quickly," the woman in silver warned. "Once we return with the Black Materia, you will never be allowed to leave. And there are no flowers in the Deepground for you to tend to."

The conversation died there as her fate had been made clear. Once this was over with, they would take her with them to wherever this Deepground was. There would be no chance for her to escape as she did before at the cost of her birthmother's life, and doing so now would endanger her adoptive mother's life.

Unable to change that at the moment, Aerith continued to walk towards the structure that grew ever closer until they reached a deep moat that had been carved around it and then reinforced by stone walls that formed a bulwark around it. The only way to cross the gap was a rope bridge that was suspended above the gap.

No sooner than she set foot on the bridge did a myriad of whispers reach Aerith's ears. The knowledge of the Ancients permeated the air around it, similar to the lingering souls of the Gi Tribe but different at the same time. They resisted returning to the Planet by sheer force of will and dedication, for the sake of those who would come after them and the Planet itself.

Rather than existing as individuals, they melded together to form a single sentience composed of the countless ancestors that anchored themselves to the temple. The temple itself was alive and conscious in that aspect, aware of the passage of time as it awaited the arrival of Aerith. And, now that she was here, it welcomed her.

It was too… abstract for her to completely understand. Like she was listening underwater or too many voices speaking at once. At the very least she could pick up that it was uneasy, but happy that she had arrived all the same.

That feeling of misplaced joy from the lingering thoughts of those that came before and dedicated themselves to this place only served to worsen the immense guilt Aerith felt. This was not how she wished to visit a sacred locale of her people. Instead of her companions, with whom she who shared many trials with for the sake of the same goal, she instead brought soldiers seeking to plunder that which they dedicated their afterlife towards protecting, denying themselves their right to join the Lifestream to ensure it.

Of course, that took a backseat once she saw a cloaked figure near the entrance of the Temple, at the top of the ziggurat. The familiar make of the cloak and shambling sent a chill down her spine as she realized why the temple itself felt uneasy now. Jenova's presence here, one of the people under its thrall, meant Sephiroth was likely on his way there too.

He had found the ultimate destructive magic and was coming to claim it.


	52. Chapter 52

**Another Chapter is here!**

 **Enjoy!**

Aerith couldn't keep pace as Argento ascended the stairs to question the man, after the rest of her unit rushed to the top of the ziggurat and forced him face-down onto the surface. The location was supposed to be isolated by the hostile landscape after all, so his presence was suspicious no matter what. The last of the Cetra naturally attempted to intervene before they could do him further harm, placing herself between the man and Argento. "Don't hurt him."

"Move her." The order was carried out by one of the troops grabbing and pulling Aerith to the side. Her path clear, the Tsviet addressed the man on the ground. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

 _"Black… Materia…"_ The man in the black cloak murmured, eyes dull and lifeless.

Argento's eye narrowed at that. "How do you know of that? Answer me."

"That man is a Sephiroth Clone!" Aerith said as she struggled against the firm grip around her arms futilely. That man was someone that had been made a victim, a resident of Cloud and Tifa's former home. He didn't deserve to be harmed when he wasn't in control of his actions. "He can't tell you anything!"

The words drew Argento's attention to her. "Explain."

Aerith took a deep breath. It seemed like she would at least listen to her. "Hojo took a bunch of people and injected them with cells from a being known as Jenova. It overtook their minds and has turned them into puppets, leaving them thralls of Sephiroth. You'll gain nothing from harming him."

"Then do you believe that this… thrall's presence means that Sephiroth has located this place?"

Aerith nodded reluctantly. "Even so, he can't reach it without the Keystone."

"Take her inside. I need to contact Heidegger about this." She took a communication device from her belt and pressed it to her ear. "This is Argento. We've encountered a complication in the retrieval of the Black Materia."

With a shove that was harder than necessary, the troop that grabbed her led Aerith inside of the temple. The room was small, shrouded in darkness until one of them set the two torches in the back ablaze. The orange flicker of the flames scared the shadows into hiding behind the support columns and corners, revealing the stone altar at the top of a platform.

Aerith found herself being pulled to it at the urging of the Keystone. A firm hand held her back. She frowned but said nothing until the sound of two rounds being fired caused her to whip her head around.

She spotted Argento walking through the entrance. One of the troops behind her had his gun pointed down, the barrel smoking. The poor man enthralled by Jenova was lying on the ground like a black lump in the midst of a slowly expanding pool of blood. "You executed him."

"Heidegger's orders." She turned to her unit that stood at attention and pointed to four of them. "Guard the entrance and use the radios if anyone else arrives. Rosso will be here shortly to shore up the defensive line. The rest of you follow us."

The troops did as told. Four of them took a defensive stance at the entrance, looking out at the jungle. That left the remaining three and Argento to escort Aerith up the platform.

The last of the Cetra took a deep breath as she stood in front of the altar. The feverish Keystone in her hands vibrated, urging her to return it where it belonged. She did as it wished and placed it into the last slot.

The Temple roused from its long slumber as the Keystone's energy flowed through the grooves etched into the stone, illuminating the traveled path with a blue glow. The pulsating hum gave way to a strong heartbeat that resonated through the ziggurat. Loose dust and small stones were shaken loose within the small room.

Time slowed to a crawl as a pulse surged through Aerith. Color disappeared from her perspective. Silhouettes that were once souls filled the chamber, whispering to her heart what was it that she—the last of their kind—desired?

To Aerith there were surprisingly many things she desired. She wanted to rescue her mother. She wanted return to her friends. But right now she needed to fulfill her duty as a Cetra to save the Planet, and that meant keeping the Black Materia from Sephiroth, Jenova, and those that would abuse it above all else.

The common consciousness responded. Her elongated perception of time and color returned to normal as the entire platform they were on became shrouded in shadows. They were all pulled into it in a heartbeat.

After a feeling of falling and then rising, Aerith then found herself within a maze of dreamy mist, gnarled ivy, and forgotten stone. In front of her stood a figure dressed in a purple robe, with a long gray beard and yellow hat obscuring its body beneath it. It beckoned her to follow it with its staff and unspoken words; though she managed to pick up that it was saying that she had much to learn and little time to do so as the last of their race…

 **[-oOo-]**

Rosso found herself fixated on the flourishing jungle further ahead as the aircraft she was flying in drew closer to the landmass. Every second she had spent outside was nothing short of amusing, having experienced so much for the first time in her life. Having been born in Deepground, she had nothing more than a rudimentary, textbook understanding of the outside world until a day ago.

Of course, she couldn't help but think that the vivid green could be improved with a splash of blood or that the pristine beaches could do with corpses lining it. That was one of the best parts of her assignment. She got to travel to new places and kill new people.

The aircraft descended to the ground shortly after, landing next to the similar craft that belonged to the first unit. She exited it and set foot outside, where the breeze rustled her blood-red hair and carried the scent of the sea to her nose. It was a contrast to the dry and chill night air near the mountains where she had been previously, tinged with the familiar coppery scent from the freshly flowing lifeblood of the men that she had been sent to eliminate.

One of the two remaining troops approached her and saluted. "Ma'am, there has been a complication in the mission."

She listened with mild interest as he told her that they received notice of the possibility of an assault by Sephiroth. The thought of clashing blades with the supposed perfect SOLDIER left her ready for a fight and made her smile. She had less interest in the fact that they'd lost contact with her fellow Tsviet and the Ancient after they'd placed the Keystone into the altar.

That was when she spotted something in the air, in the corner of her eye. It was as small as a speck at that distance, easy enough to pass for a bird. However, given what she had been told of the Ancient's accomplices and Hojo's mention of another potential object of interest, her intuition told her that the chance to leave the beach lined with corpses had arisen.

"Gather the men," she ordered as she grabbed her weapon. "We have guests to entertain."

 **[-oOo-]**

The Tiny Bronco had a slightly rough landing as Cid brought it down near the jungle, having been forced to turn away or run the risk of crashing due to strange turbulence. The group as a whole disembarked, with Yuffie immediately running off to vomit from her air sickness. Only Crimson and Cid remained inside the plane, the latter making sure that there was no damage to the plane and the former dealing with their hostage since the blonde-haired Turk had been woken from her sleep by the violent jostling.

Though they brought her along and stripped her of her weapons, Crimson didn't trust the girl getting out of her sight. So she made sure the bindings around her wrists were tight and gave her a warning. "Don't do anything stupid."

Even though she nodded, Elena didn't bother hiding the murderous glare she had on her face.

The morning sun beat down on the group as they took in the landscape, eying the distant stone peaking just over the jungle canopy. The wild-lands were teeming with life, a cacophony of clicking, chirping, and squawking resounding throughout the air. Everyone made sure that their weapons and materia were in place before they pressed ahead.

It was when they were halfway there that Nanaki stalled in his tracks and snarled. Cloud, standing at the vanguard, raised one arm to signal silently for the rest of them to do the same. Then he whipped his head around and threw himself at Crimson, blade drawn.

"Wha—" Her words of surprise were cut off as the heavy Buster Sword intercepted the metal slug that nearly punched through her skull. Memories of the night in Costa del Sol came unbidden and her breathing quickened with her racing pulse.

Cloud stood in front of her, eyes fixated on the scantily dressed woman in red who was pointing the center of what looked to be a dual-bladed sword in the shape of a bow. The barrel in the center was smoking, a cruel smile painted on her lips as she looked down at them from atop a thick tree branch. Then more troops appeared from the brush, surrounding them while armed.

Snapping out of her brief shock before they could fire, a jolt surged through Crimson's mind before the kill-box closed. She utilized a Barrier spell in combination with an All Materia to spread the effect to their group, Elena included, preventing instant death as bullets hammered away at them. The counter-attack began as spells began flying, and the woman dressed in red descended with her blade scything towards Cloud.

Triggering Sense, Crimson took in the chaos around her in time to avoid the knife aiming at the back of her neck. The flash of steel from her Rekka barely cut through the mako-tempered flesh, but it knocked the knife off its course. Bright, white lightning jumped from her favored elemental materia point-blank as a follow-up, sinking past the flesh to the vulnerable organs beneath it.

 _Heart stopped. Organs fail. Brain destroyed._ Data from Sense poured into her mind and gave her a read-out on the damage done by the Bolt 3 spell. It was overkill for certain against a sole troop, even if they were more durable than the average human. As Kunsel had said before, they weren't the biggest threats.

No, the real one was the woman in red who was laughing as she fought with Cloud. The barrier that she'd placed on him had already been stripped away and his tempered flesh was leaking blood from slits cut into it. The woman wasn't stronger than Cloud, but she was faster than him to the extent of easily ducking or parrying his slashes before she sliced into him.

Her movements, her judgment, her reactions—Sense told Crimson that this woman had spent her lifetime training against opponents who were less durable than Cloud, but still above the average human in terms of strength. In a one-on-one fight, Cloud was the best choice to face her… in the sense that he'd simply take the longest to kill because of his enhancements.

At least while he was still polishing his swordsmanship up. Fortunately, they don't fight alone if they can help it and their handicaps could be compensated for that reason. Crimson looked around to see how the others were faring at a glance to do just that.

Tifa just finished breaking the neck of one female troop, while Nanaki hammered another with a Fire 2 spell. They were cleared. Yuffie barely avoided a blade going for her throat when Vincent opened fire with his large gun to buy her time to cast a Bio 2 spell. The poison did its work and Vincent moved in to finish with a double-tap. The other two weren't fairing as well, with Barret laying down cover-fire and Cid struggling to fend off one of the sword-wielding Deepground troops with his weapon.

"Vincent, heal Cloud! Lockhart, Yuffie, Nanaki, lock down her movements!" Crimson ordered before combining her All Materia with her Thunder Materia to release a Bolt 2 spell. Her mind jolted from the strain of using them both at the same time, but the resulting lightning that came crashing from the sky struck down their surviving foes.

The surge of lightning stilled the woman in red's movements by no more than maybe a second, but Cloud took the opening to bring down his sword. Even though she avoided the initial strike, Cloud triggered the Earth Materia and the resulting shockwave from the Quake spell forced her to leap away from the erupting earth that upturned the grass and nearby trees, lest the loss of balance leave her open for the decapitating follow-up strike.

The distance minimized the risk of friendly fire as Nanaki let loose a Fire 2 spell that scorched the dirt and set the nearest trees ablaze upon impact, hot wind billowing out from the force. A swift brandish of her dual-bladed weapon snuffed the flames and smoke in time for her to see that Yuffie was closing the distance. She took aim towards the younger kunoichi, but a ball of condensed blue and white frost slammed into the barrel. Plugged by the resulting thick ice, it was all but guaranteed that it would self-destruct if she pulled the trigger.

Yuffie swiped for her neck with the shuriken she brought from her homeland, only to miss as the woman turned her body. The distraction served its purpose as Tifa then body-checked her into a tree hard enough that the bark groaned and splinters flew free. Crimson finished with her Rekka circling the tree and the wire wrapping around her assailant once, before Cloud grabbed the weapon and pulled with all his might.

The wire went taut, binding the target in the center. Yuffie darted in to get her weapon while her arms were pinned into place. And, just to make sure she didn't break free, Tifa used another Ice spell that spread from her toes to her chest, binding her to the tree like a frozen cocoon.

Despite facing greater odds and being trapped, the woman in red chuckled like a child in amusement and flashed a matching smile. "Not bad." Her accent seemed to caress the words as they came out of her lips, along with her visible breath from the cold encasing her. "I haven't had this much fun in sometime."

Ignoring that, Crimson began a brief interrogation. "I take it you're one of the Tsviets?"

"Correct," she said. "I am Rosso the Crimson, one of the Tsviets of Deepground."

 _They must operate on a system where the strongest of them receive titles with colors to accentuate their prowess._ Crimson mused in her head before turning to Vincent. "How does she compare to the other one?"

"Not as strong, but faster and skilled," Vincent answered while reloading his weapon. He had already finished healing Cloud. "The Cerulean Tsviet was simply hard to put down due to his strength and transformation. It wouldn't be wrong to call him more monster than man."

"I would not throw stones, Darling," Rosso said, a hint of affectionate in her voice. "After all, you are not so human yourself anymore. The Professor has mentioned his thoughts on how you became what you are, due to the one you coveted so dearly. Such a beautiful tragedy it is, I consider it my new favorite tale."

"You seem awfully cheery for someone at our mercy," Yuffie said pointedly to that, holding the deadly weapon that belonged to the giggling woman as she stood by Vincent's side.

"And you are quite bold for a flea that enjoys clinging to a corpse," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Yuffie, she's baiting you. Don't fall for it," Crimson told the kunoichi before she could get madder. She then turned back towards her captive. "What does Heidegger intend to do with the Huge Materia he's taken and the Black Materia?"

"I don't know or care." Tilting her head as she looked over the corpses and injuries, Rosso's eyes seemed to dance in delight at the blood and destruction wrought over the course of no more than a minute or two. "I merely go along with my orders because I take delight in the sight of the carnage that will follow."

 _"Broad's got a few screws loose,"_ Cid muttered just beneath his breath. Barret let a low grunt to show he agreed.

Crimson was inclined to silently agree herself that something about this woman just wasn't right, but decided it didn't matter as she concentrated on her Thunder Materia. The woman was clearly answering only because she felt it amused her and they didn't have time for games. It was best to end it in a single Bolt 3 spell rather than drag it out like she did before.

Then Cloud fell to his knees with a pained groan, holding the sides of head. The familiar reaction drew all of their attention.

"Ah. It looks like Sephiroth has arrived," the Crimson Tsviet said with a smile as a blood-tinged miasma exploded out from her body with enough force that the ice shattered into a spray of frost and fragments. On reflex, Crimson covered her eyes and let loose the Bolt 3 spell that obliterated the tree she was bound to.

Then Yuffie screamed in a moment of pain and drew their eyes towards her, far to the right. She was lying on the ground, a path dug into the upturned dirt from where she had been sent skidding from. There was a bruise on her cheek and blood dripped from between her lips as her head lolled, knocked unconscious in a single backhand after being caught off-guard.

Another pained groan and the sound of metal clattering onto the dirt made them turn to see that Rosso, wreathed and swaddled in a crimson aura, was in front of Vincent. She had taken her weapon back, holding it with one clawed hand. The other was wedged into Vincent's chest.

"Ah, it would seem the Professor's theory was right." There was a wet, sickening sound as she jerked it free. Vincent fell to the ground as she stood over him, holding a large materia that they'd never seen before. "I will take the Protomateria, if you don't mind."


	53. Chapter 53

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Riemann Hypothesis : Thank you for the comment!**

 **Enjoy!**

Yuffie felt agony as her eyelids fluttered open, marking her waking from the void of unconsciousness. Pain spiked in her jaw upon taking a deep breath, courtesy of the blow that sent her skirting along the ground. It was painful enough that it nearly made her want to fall unconscious again, but the sight of Vincent on the ground and the Tsviet standing over him with a _beautiful_ materia in her hand was enough to push the pain behind a veil of anger instead.

Then there was a pulse of _something_ tenebrous that billowed out from Vincent's frame as it became warped by darkness. He changed, sprouting pinions and breathing with a guttural rasp. A chaotic and malevolent pressure rolled off of him, thick and heavy. It felt wrong, like it was the anathema to life itself… _death_.

"Now!" she heard Crimson call out before the woman in red abruptly hopped away, deftly avoiding the heavy sword that belonged to Cloud swung single-handedly. His other hand was bracing his head until the pale light of a Haste spell encased him. Tifa, also shrouded in the same light, rushed after their foe, side-by-side with Cloud.

Hurried footfalls reached Yuffie's ears before a soothing sensation swaddled her. The Cure 2 spell numbed the pain and fixed her jaw back into place, putting her back into fighting form. She rose up and turned to Crimson with the question on her tongue being, "What happened to Vincent?"

"She shoved her hand into his chest and pulled that materia out of it after she knocked you out," Crimson said as she watched the exchange between Cloud, Rosso, and Tifa. It wasn't going well. They could keep up with her, but the woman wasn't struggling as much as she should have been for two fighters of their caliber. "It's obviously important, but at this rate…."

Yuffie clenched her fist beneath her arm-guard to the point of being painful. A searing heat bubbled up in her chest, filling her with resolve as the muscles in her legs tensed—she was ready to explode into motion. Defiance tinged her voice as she declared, "I'm getting it back!"

Crimson didn't stop her as Yuffie had expected. Instead, she applied the same spell to her that she did to the others, hastening her mind and body. "She's a bit faster than before and her current state also increases her brute strength, but she's not used to attacks from odd angles and you're good at those… _uhhh_ …"

The former Turk brought her hand to her head, the strain of using so many spells in such a short time taking its toll. "Just… help them get her in a position where we can set up a decent hit to take her out. But don't let her hit you with her weapon."

"Got it!" Unfurling her Magic Shuriken, Yuffie darted into the fray of combat from the side and then the back. Bringing her weapon around towards Tsviet's unprotected neck while she was distracted by the other two, the six blades moved to sever her head from her body.

 _Clash!_ A flash of steel intercepted her weapon with a metallic sound.

The kunoichi stifled a surprised gasp at the force of the blow being nearly enough to forcibly tear her weapon from her grasp. Then the blood-tinged blade came around again, snaking around like a stricken serpent lashing back for her head.

She ducked down to avoid it as another flash of steel came around to crash into it. The dual-bladed weapon was locked into place by the Buster Sword as Cloud braced it. Then Tifa brought her fist around for Rosso's face with enough force that it could shatter concrete.

Rosso's foot lashed out like a lance to catch Tifa in the abdomen, knocking the blow short before she angled her weapon so that she could get a point-blank shot against Cloud. It couldn't break his mako-tempered skin, but the stopping power of the round was enough that it made him take a step back. Then the Tsviet leaned back to avoid the swipe Yuffie took in an attempt to Steal the Protomateria, bringing the heel of her shoes towards Yuffie's head.

The kunoichi raised her arm-guard in time. The impact was like being hit by a sledgehammer, caving in the metal and breaking the bone in her forearm before sending her flying backwards into a tumble onto the ground. Pulling herself up to her feet and biting back a pained snarl, Yuffie noticed the madwoman was laughing as she swung the dual-bladed weapon and released a crimson disk of energy towards Tifa and Cloud.

It forced them to dodge before it mowed through the trees along its path. Then, in a crimson flicker, Rosso then vanished from Yuffie's line-of-sight. Her intuition screamed that death was closing in and Yuffie dived forward in response.

The blade scything for her neck from behind cut through air instead. An amused smile at seeing the younger girl on the ground painted Rosso's face briefly, before she twisted around to avoid being impaled as Cid dove from above with his weapon. A sharp kick followed, heels digging in as the strike hit hard and snapped the haft of his weapon, brought up in defense, in half before kicking him aside.

"Move girl!" Barret yelled as the fiery energy of his Limit Break gathered around the tip of his gun in the form of a swirling ball of explosive energy. At the same time, Nanaki was readying a Fire 3 spell as well. Combined, they looked like they could pack a punch, but there was no way such slow attacks would hit her and Rosso knew it.

That was, not unless she couldn't move. Yuffie used a borrowed Gravity Materia and the Demi 2 spell's gravity-well brought the Tsviet down to a knee. Pinned in place so that she couldn't evade, Yuffie moved as the two launched their fireballs.

The feeling of the scorching heat was second to the bone-rattling force that caught her just past what would be considered a safe-distance. It had rupture with a thunderous explosion that severed Yuffie's concentration and canceled out the gravity-well. The resulting smoke veil cleared to show that the woman was scorched from the attack, the crimson aura shrouding her thinned drastically as she panted for breath.

Her smile was gone, replaced with a frown that bared teeth as she glared at Yuffie with murderous rage. **"You—"** Her rage seemed to make the crimson around her flare once more as swung for Yuffie again, releasing a crimson disk of death. **"—Wutai-flea!"**

Cloud intercepted with his own Limit Break, rushing to her defense and firing a Blade Beam to meet the attack head-on. The crescent wave of power blasted through her attack and proceeded to carve out the ground on its way to Rosso. Forced to dodge, the Tsviet clicked her tongue only for a serpentine Bolt 2 spell to snake through the air and nail her again from an angle.

Crimson was panting, eyes slightly glazed over. She had been working herself too hard with too many spells. There was no telling if she had it in her to fire off another one.

Smoking from the attack and her blood-tinged aura barely visible, the woman in red shot them a spiteful glance and then released a final shockwave through the ground that sprayed dirt and force to cover her escape into the jungle. She was running away because they had pushed her to the edge. However, any joy that might have been derived from that was crushed by the fact that Yuffie hadn't gotten back the materia she stole from Vincent.

The thought lodged a wedge of rage in her chest and made her blood pound at her ears. She couldn't let her escape! Her legs moved to give chase, but a firm hand grabbed her arm before she could. A lance of pain reminded her of her broken forearm, and she turned to find Cid holding onto her with one hand.

The other was holding onto the side where the kick had landed. "Calm down, kid!" he said. "You go after that crazy broad alone she'll end you."

"But she's got Vincent's materia!" Yuffie tried tugging herself free. But it was no use due to how strong his grip was. She was only hurting herself, made even worse when she felt the Haste spell wear off. "I have to get it back!"

"I don't like it either, but look at what we've got to work with." He tilted his head to the group and Yuffie turned to see them. The strain of the fighting for the others and Crimson healing their injuries left them mentally and physically fatigued, while Vincent was unconscious entirely as his form had at some point reverted back to human. "We can always get it back later if we're alive."

Yuffie couldn't accept that. On impulse and out of options, Yuffie did the only thing she could think of. She summoned her patron deity as a last-ditch effort to reclaim the stolen materia. **"Stop her, Leviathan!"**

The colossal jolt to her mind left it scrambled as the summoning emerged, aware of what needed to be done, and let loose a massive deluge from thin air. It surged out with enough force behind it that everything in the path of the rushing waters was uprooted and smashed to pieces. An entire section of the jungle was demolished, overturned flora and drowned wildlife littering the mud.

 _"Oww…"_ The strain of unleashing the summoning for the first time left Yuffie huddled over and holding her head as it dissipated. Minutes passed as instructions were given and carried out while she sat there, nursing a broken forearm and the mother of all headaches. It felt like her skull was being split open. It wasn't as bad as with the Sense Materia, but it made thinking hard until she felt a healing sensation covering her and numbing the pain.

She looked up as her broken forearm was being mended to find Crimson there. "Did you get it back?"

"Nanaki spotted an aircraft taking-off in the direction she went," Crimson explained. Rosso had gotten away after all. "You, Barret, and Cid take Vincent back to the Tiny Bronco and get further out to sea. I don't want to risk losing it due to anymore surprises, so we'll call when we get Aerith back for pick-up."

Yuffie wanted to argue, but she was worried about Vincent and summoning Leviathan had taken a lot out of her. "Okay, I'm going…" She got to her feet before she noticed something amiss. "What happened to that spy we tied up?"

 **[-oOo-]**

Elena was breathless by the time that she had stopped running. The fighting had given her a chance to escape and she took it, grabbing a knife from one of the fallen attackers and fleeing from the chaos as their attention was focused on the woman in red. The massive summoning and the sudden flood were unexpected, but the fact that they were fired off in the opposite direction was what ultimately allowed her to cover enough ground to where she could rest against a tree.

As she worked to get free of her bindings with the knife, Elena couldn't help but think on everything she'd learned. Though it pained her to admit it, the traitor had made several deductions that spelled trouble for the company if true. If Heidegger had been hiding assets like those troops they just encountered, it made him as much of a traitor as the former Turk.

 _I need to get this information to Tseng as quickly as possible._ Of course, no sooner than she came to that conclusion did the sound of hungry chittering reach her ears. That was the only warning Elena got and all that saved her from being pounced upon by a Kelzmelzer that descended from above.

In the wake of an enemy seeking to make her prey, she cut herself in the process of hastily getting free of the ropes around her wrist so that she wouldn't be completely helpless. Hot blood ran free from the wound as she ran to try to get away. She would really rather not fight if she didn't have to while armed with only a knife.

The jungle was uneven and discomforting to run across. The dense brush obscured the path ahead of her for more than a few feet, leaving her unsure if her next steps would leave her running into a dead-end or ambush. Nevertheless, her feet pounded at the ground as she ran as far as she could from the enemy she knew of.

The large insectoid monster gave chase in response with an aggravated chittering. The multiple legs were efficient for navigating through the jungle, allowing it to easily chase after her. It would run her down and then poison her with the potent venom within the sacs in its maw.

Elena quickly realized that escape wasn't an option as she kept moving. In a contest of stamina, she couldn't beat that thing. Being devoured was the only thing she could look forward to in the face of an apex predator if she continued to run.

 _If only they hadn't taken my explosives._ She could only lament that the traitor had so thoroughly disarmed her for a moment before she steeled herself for what would happen next. Then going from flight-to-fight, Elena switched her grasp on the knife into a reverse grip and then reversed her sprint towards it.

The sudden reversal of the hunt caught it by surprise. The inhuman hunting instinct of the Kelmelzer realized that the carefully planned pounce it had been preparing would send it flying over her. Thus it opted to instead skewer her with its stingers as it came to an abrupt stop, sending the left one spearing for her head.

The Turk kicked off the ground at an angle and was grazed in the arm by a sharpened point that would have run her through if she had been a half-second slower. She swallowed the pain akin to a hot-brand running over her flesh and then raised her right hand that held the knife to intercept the second stinger that came for her. The blade deflected it and then cut it off as she dragged it forward, breaking through the opening.

She twisted her body and carried the momentum through her rising foot into its elongated body. The force transferred, leaving it screeching in agony as the internal fluids and systems within it were ruptured as a result. She then drove the knife into its head, wedging it in deep after piercing through its exoskeleton, and then dragged the knife out the side, tearing a messy furrow out of it.

The insectoid monster twitched after it fell on the ground for a few moments. Then it went still. Pale visceral fluids leaking from the corpse slowly pooled beneath it.

Elena took deep and steady breaths to calm her racing heart. Then the pain in her arm made itself known, blood cascading from the torn skin. She tore off fabric from her former workplace's uniform and then used them as makeshift bandages. She had barely had them tied around the wounds on her arm and wrist when she heard something that made her skin crawl, and turned her head towards it.

A second Kelmelzer attacked from the distance. Had it heard the noise and came to investigate? Or had the second one always been there, stealthily setting up an ambush meant to pincer her from the beginning? Either way, it opened its maw and let loose a sickly green spray that arched across the distance.

Liquid Poison, the distilled form of the venom it used to hunt, crossed the gap between them and doused Elena. Agony ran through her body as she fell to the ground and began crying out in pain. The potent poison was one meant to cripple its prey, attacking the pain receptor as it invaded the pores, stirring nausea and rousing fever, raising her pulse to the point of nearly having a heart attack.

Her flesh felt like it was burning as the bane-liquid soaked her clothes. Yet Elena tried desperately to stand as it closed the distance with its maw opened. With the world spinning and up becoming down, she wobbled on her feet with the knife in hand as it lunged.

"GET DOWN!" The familiar voice spurred her body into reacting as ordered. Elena fell onto the ground as gunfire thundered. The exoskeleton of the second Kelmelzer burst with a wet splash as it was punctured by a metal slug.

Lying on the ground, Elena's ears rang as the sound of a shotgun being pumped preceded another round of thunder and another pained burst of insect noise. Her eyes closed to bear with the stinging from the pain as a third round of thunder followed. A fourth, final round to finish the monster off left the scent of gunpowder hanging in the air near her.

"Si—" The words she wanted to say choked her on the way out. The pained cough turned into a wheezing rasp as gloved fingers turned her head. Then what felt like the rim of a glass bottle was pressed against her lips.

"Drink now," ordered her superior as the bottle was tilted back.

She did so as the bitter medicine poured down her throat. A shuddering breath forced itself out of Elena's throat when the last of it was gone. Another bottle found its way to her lips and she drank it down as well, the pain began ebbing away with every gulp of honeyed liquid. She opened her eyes and found Tseng there, kneeling over her with an expended bottle of Elixir in his hand.

"S-Sir… you… came… for me?" She couldn't help but shed tears of happiness. If the lingering aches didn't make moving less painful, she'd hug him.

"Rude found blood at the Extraction Team's location and is en route to this location," he said, his voice betraying nothing as he began to remove her clothing. "If you can speak then give me a report while I get you out of these poisoned-soaked clothes. I don't have another Antidote or Elixir if you get poisoned again from it."

 _His gloves will stop it from getting on him,_ Elena rationalized to suppress her embarrassment at requiring his assistance while the medicines did their work. She then began to tell him everything she learned since she had been taken from the Gold Saucer. She told him how Heidegger had ascertained confidential information about the Black Materia within two hours of her sending word and the suspicions of the traitor's group. She told Tseng about how he had his own private military force and how he working with Professor Hojo.

Last, she told him about how Heidegger kidnapped the Ancient. That last one earned a slight change in his expression. A barely visible frown on the face of a man who could pull the trigger on someone he worked with for years without flinching.

"Heidegger's actions are treason and without consent. That much is clear." He tossed his gloves onto the ground before taking off his suit jacket. The latter he handed to her while looking away. "Tie that around your waist."

Elena did so using the buttons to close it up part-way and tying the sleeves into a bow to form a makeshift skirt since only her undergarments and undershirt remained dry enough to be worn without the risk of being poisoned again. "What do we do now, sir?"

"Use the tracker to get where Rude is going to land and then tell him everything." He picked up the shotgun and what looked to be a tracker, handing both over to her. "He has a way of contacting Reno and Rufus to inform them of Heidegger's treachery that will bypass whatever means he's using to monitor calls."

"Okay, but what will you be doing?"

"I'm going to retrieve the Ancient." He pulled out a larger firearm and checked the scope before slinging the strap of the bag over his shoulder again. "Then I'll fly back in my own aircraft with her."

Uncertainty weighed in her chest at that. He was going into enemy territory without support. Even Tseng would be outmatched if the Tsviet or the traitor's group found him alone. Surely he knew that as well, right? "Then I'll go too!"

"Get to Rude. Tell him everything." Tseng's voice was firmer this time. "That's your job as a member of the Turks."

"But…" Her plea for him to take her with him died in her throat as he gave her a hard stare that wouldn't allow for anymore argument. He wouldn't budge. "Then please be safe, sir. I… the company needs you."

He nodded and then started towards the ziggurat. No goodbyes. No farewells. Only silence as his back grew distant, fading into the brush between them as he went forward with no regrets.

All that stopped Elena from following after him onto the battlefield was the fact that she had been given an order. Disobeying it would be going against the very spirit of being a Turk by putting her own feelings above the well-being of the company. It would be treason, and the one thing she wasn't was a traitor.

Her resolve solidified, Elena held the gun close to her chest as she turned away from him and made for the extraction point.


	54. Chapter 54

**Another Chapter is here!**

 **Enjoy!**

The spirit-body of the ancestral Cetra guided Aerith through the winding path of countless steps that sometimes twisted into themselves or inverted—or would it be more accurate to say that they unraveled to form a straight path at the spirit-body's whim. If this realm was a dream of the slumbering Ancients, then it was the one that held sway over it, the Elder of those that remained capable of reason and maintaining a solid form.

Not that the Elder told her that with words that could be heard by her ears, but by her heart. In such a state, there was no need for words since they were linked by their consciousness in anchoring this realm to the ziggurat, thus they had no need to speak to one another with words. The unnecessary skill was forgotten over the centuries, and the best they could do was make a strange sound.

Regardless, she did understand the Elder's unspoken words to some extent as it led Aerith deeper within, to a realm of darkness outlining a stone bridge. There, off to the side, stood what looked to be a well filled with a liquid that seemed alive in a sense.

Ripples were spreading across the surface even though there was no wind to skim the top. Light rose from the well in a violet column. Faint and honeyed whispers, like those to a mother calling for her child, beckoned her to come closer.

It drew her towards it in a similar manner that the Keystone had pulled her towards the altar, only this time it was the spirit-body of the Elder that stopped her from almost jumping into it. Snapped out of her brief daze, Aerith watched as the Elder then proceeded to give the well a scolding for 'trying to tempt her out of her decision' if she understood it right. The light dimmed and the voices quieted.

"… What is this?" she asked, standing at the edge of the well. To her surprise, it answered by a luminous glow that blinded her. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in the past, a memory of the Ancients.

The Cetra were a nomadic people, consisting of many different groups traveling the world to nurture life on it with the Planet. In turn, the Planet gifted them with the knowledge to use magic in order to accomplish their tasks and ease their lives. Thus a symbiotic relationship was born between the Cetra and the Planet they lived on.

Then the land itself was on the verge of being stricken by a large stone from the sky, descending from above and crashing down. The Planet could tell such a thing would be a cataclysmic event, bearing enough of catastrophic force from the impact that it would gouge a wound so fierce that the Planet would not be able to heal itself. The damage would radiate outwards to eventually make all life unable to thrive.

Unable to let such an event come to pass, the Cetra looked for an answer as destruction loomed in the sky. Hope wavered as all the knowledge and power they possessed seemingly offered nothing. They were unable to avert such a disaster as it stood.

Fear, desperation, and regrets bubbled up in the face of unavoidable death. They committed sins, performed untold atrocities, and fell to their despair. These emotions tainted the souls of many that returned to the Planet, stagnating within the Lifestream.

Even the Planet itself lamented that not only would those that were born on it would perish, but also that it would cease to exist as well. It was natural after all. All living things desired to keep living for as long as they could, and the Planet itself was no exception.

But it could not foresee a way to prevent its own death, so it planned to accept it instead. It would create a being meant to gather all of the Lifestream into itself and then send it into the cosmos. Eventually it would give birth to another planet and start life anew there.

This being would become known as **Omega** , an embodiment of rebirth.

But the time it would take for all of the Lifestream to gather into itself would merely prolong the suffering of those left behind as the destruction spread out. It would be a miserable, painful existence that only served to further taint the Lifestream. Thus, would it not be more merciful to grant them a swift end?

Omega forged a harbinger, born of the negative emotions and taint of the Lifestream that polluted it already. It would be the one to bring an end to all life, destroying that which cannot be saved so the cycle of life could continue anew someday.

This being would become known as **Chaos** , an embodiment of death.

However, one person in particular did not lose hope. She was a Cetra thought to be loved by the Planet itself more than any other, living in a settlement far in the north. It was she who heard of the Planet's silent lament at having to start anew while still desiring to live, and it was she who proposed to the Planet that they continue to live together for as long as they could.

Her name was **Minerva** , and she presented the final card they had to play.

The Cetra possessed the ability to open veins to the Lifestream, which they utilized to make the land fertile and let life flourish even in barren wastelands given enough time. That which could make life flourish could also become a shield. Thus by using these pathways, they could manifest the Lifestream from within the Planet to become a shield against that which would herald its end.

Minerva beckoned the Planet to echo her voice as she called out to not only her brother and sisters, but to all the living beings on the Planet itself. She sat upon the water altar with her hands clasped together, and called for them to pray for a single thing: to fend off the threat that laid before them.

Their collective prayers brought forth a miracle as the Lifestream itself manifested. Countless streamlets of almost divine light rose from the Planet and gathered to intercept the meteor. A blinding brilliance swallowed the sky as the ultimate defense met with the ultimate destruction, and when it faded they found that their prayers had been answered.

The Lifestream returned from whence it came, back into the bosom of the Planet. But before it did, it gave birth to three crystallized manifestation of what transpired.

The first was a method of controlling Omega and Chaos, the manifestation of the Planet's acceptance of death and rebirth, capable of delaying it or hastening it: **Protomateria**.

The second was Meteor, the manifestation of the source of their despair, capable of bringing forth ultimate destruction: **Black Materia**.

The third was Holy, the manifestation of their prayers for salvation, capable of spurring the Planet into action once more to fend off threats: **White Materia**.

As for what happened to the one who led their prayers, Minerva… she vanished that day and was never seen again.

After that, the White Materia was enshrined within the sacred city, where Holy was meant to be used to commune with the Planet as Minerva did. The Protomateria was squirreled away as well to parts unknown, only a tablet left behind to mark its existence for the Cetra to come. The Black Materia itself was made into a place to house their legacy, the Temple of the Ancients.

The temple was the final resting place where appointed storytellers, wizened casters, and venerable members would make a pilgrimage when nearing the end of their life. A Keystone, one of many now lost to the ages of time, would grant them passage to this realm. Here, at the well, they would take the plunge within it and then give up their physical form, depositing their knowledge within it and joining the collective that anchored the realm and temple into place.

With that story told, the water's glow faded. The memory itself faded, and Aerith returned to her body, overlooking the well on her hands and knees. She turned to the spirit-body standing next to her.

"So this place is… a treasury?" she asked. "It's not meant to merely house the Black Materia, but the collective knowledge of our people. If the Black Materia was needed, then they would have to come here to see the risks involved and the means by which it could be countered?"

The Elder gestured to the well and spoke with unspoken words, relaying what the honeyed whispers from before were trying to say. It was a rather simple, if heavy request: they wanted her to take in all of the knowledge within the well, so that the souls anchored there could return to the Promised Land.

The collective was weary of their long existence, having denied themselves their final rest to preserve this place for the future generations. If Aerith was the last of the Cetra and the Black Materia was needed, then she would be the best vessel to carry on the memory and knowledge of her people that would be lost otherwise. And that knowledge would give her power, allowing her to use magic lost to the modern world.

Yet…all power had a price. The price of knowledge was the sacrifice of self. It wouldn't be a question of merely listening to the voice of the Planet, but carrying her people's wisdom inside of her. The young woman known as Aerith would be second to the knowledge of thousands who came before, and the uncertain future that she had dedicated to the Planet would become something she couldn't hope to escape.

Aerith only realized she forgot to breathe over the weight of what she was being asked when the well spoke up again. New consciousnesses had entered into their realm and the water's reflection became a mirror to reveal them. It was Cloud, Crimson, Tifa, and Nanaki.

They looked battle-weary, clothes rustled, torn, and dirtied. She figured that they must've fought against the Deepground agents stationed along the way to the temple's entrance. Yet the first thing they did was call out for her.

Conflicting feelings blossomed in her chest at that. She felt happy that they cared enough for her to come after her despite the risks. But she also felt ashamed that she was hesitating after all they had gone through to this point. Hadn't she resolved herself to do what she had to in the wake of all of their sacrifices for her mission to this point—all of their pain and suffering?

"Can you bring them here?" Aerith asked the spirit-body as she freed her ribbon from her hair and handed it to the Elder. "I'll take in the knowledge of the Ancients, but I'm worried they'll get lost or hurt further. I'll be able to concentrate if I know they'll be safe."

It nodded what passed for its head and took the ribbon before trotting off.

She watched it leave before turning back to the well and taking a deep breath. There was no more time for doubts. She could only hope that her memories remained whole before she entered into the well, sinking beneath the surface to be embraced by the collective within. Then she inhaled and thousands of voices and visions came rushing in.

 **[-oOo-]**

Cloud didn't like the environment they found themselves in. It felt oppressive against him, almost hostile in fact. His enhanced senses were failing him here, reduced by the mist that seemed to push against him with every step. He didn't want to stay here any longer than possible, so he hoped that they could find Aerith as soon as possible.

That urge to leave only intensified as they stumbled across the corpse of what looked to be one of the Deepground troops along the maze of stairs, looking as though something had swarmed it and then torn it to pieces. The wounds were different from that of the ones they found at the top of the ziggurat, where a single slash of Sephiroth's sword managed to cut them down. It wasn't him, but he was around here somewhere—Cloud could feel it in his cells.

"How are you holding up?" Crimson asked, walking next to him with her weapon in her hand.

"I'm fine," he lied.

Her brows furrowed slightly but she didn't press him on it. Instead, she turned her attention to the Materia on her bangle, a Seal Materia. The unspoken message carried on well enough before she faced forward again. "I wonder how they fit this place inside of the temple."

"Magic, I think." At least that's what it felt like given how he hadn't been hindered by weather conditions before during their travels.

Crimson shrugged slightly. "Makes about as much sense as anything else we've seen." Her grasp on her weapon tightened as she noticed a silhouette further ahead and growing closer. "Heads-up."

Tension began to build as he held the large sword at his front, ready for whatever was coming after them. That tension melted away as a small creature appeared before them. It was hard to take it seriously, more so when it waved a ribbon in the air like a white flag.

"That's Aerith's," Tifa said as she approached, to which the creature bobbed its head and then handed it over. Then it gestured further ahead with a sort of 'follow me' motion using its cane. "I think it wants us to follow it."

They did so until they found the entrance to a dark chamber and bridge. The small creature came to a stop off to the side, where there was a dried well. Aerith was at the bottom of it, and she wasn't moving.

Cloud hopped down and then checked her pulse and breathing. She was stable, if unconscious and wet somehow. He scooped her up and then carried her back up to the top with the others, who looked worried as well. "She's just asleep, but fine."

"Then that leaves getting the Black Materia and getting out of here," Crimson said, looking between the two exits to the bridge. Then she faced the creature that brought them there. "I'm guessing its further inside?"

The little creature looked between them, eyeing Cloud suspiciously before turning to Aerith. "Nyum?"

The nonsensical word seemed to stir her awake, her eyes opening halfway before turning to it. "Take us… to it…"

It approached her and then laid a tiny hand covered by its sleeve on her head. "Nyum Nyum?"

"I… can hear them all." She tried to get back on her feet, only to stagger and then hold her head. "It's just… taking a moment to… _adjust_ …"

"Easy now!" Tifa caught her before she could collapse entirely and then picked her up bridal-style. "I don't know what's happened, but you're not capable of walking right now. Maybe we should take a minute for you to 'adjust' as you put it."

"I can… rest later." Aerith's insistence was rather weak given that she could barely keep her eyes open, let alone free herself of Tifa's grasp. "We don't have a… lot of time left…"

"You rest. The purple thing can take us the rest of the way." She turned to it. "Right?"

It nodded and then made another gesture for them to follow it. "Nyum!"

Cloud took the lead in case anything else tried to attack them. He only belatedly realized then that the oppressive feeling from before had lessened greatly around them. And with its fading, he could feel a calling of sorts towards what was waiting further ahead.

 _It must be Sephiroth…_ He tightened the grasp on his sword and gritted his teeth as he pressed ahead.

 **[-oOo-]**

The silver sword sang as it cleaved through the air, cutting through the monsters that were seemingly woven from the surrounding mist of the land. Carving a path through her assailants, Argento pressed ahead through the winding maze that had long since robbed her of the rest of her unit. The Ancient was nowhere to be found with her senses dampened. Then again, her worries about completing her mission were more or less pushed aside for the sake of her own survival the moment they lost radio contact with the outside world.

Argento couldn't count the number of nightmares made real that she'd slain, only for them to disperse upon death and more would take their place. It was becoming a battle of attrition more than anything at this point, and while she could survive nearly anything thrown at her, she had no desire to remain in this realm longer than she needed to. It was a beautiful place for certain, but so deadly and oppressive that she couldn't find comfort in it.

It was a tad ironic in the scope of things, considering that she had originally joined the Shinra army to travel the world to see the beauty of it. To her, combat and art were expressions of the same thing. The skills she honed on the battlefield were as valuable as the local beauty that could be taken in before the fighting started, immortalized in a painting before blood and destruction rained down.

Then she had gotten involved with Deepground, and all the beauty of the world faded with the loss of her eye—robbed by the Restrictor's blade. She'd never forgiven them for that. And now, after she had been underground so long that she had come to yearn for the forgotten sun and natural surroundings, she couldn't find any enjoyment in them.

A slight laugh slipped out at the cruel irony. Then, as abruptly as the attack on her had begun, it ended. A change had occurred, causing the mists to slowly thin and the oppressive feeling that had been weighing down on her, like countless eyes glaring at her for not belonging, vanished.

However, no sooner than she could make out her surroundings clearly did the muted sound of a sniper's shot reach her ears, after a bullet smashed into her suit. Her tempered flesh withstood the penetrating power, but the suit's system to circulate the mako within it was damaged. Now she was running on limited time, an hourglass that was flipped upside down with the bottom missing.

She turned towards the source of the gunshot. The sniper was there, chambering another shot. Her blade came up as he pulled the trigger, intercepting the next shot as she traced the line of fire in an instant.

 _Though I'd rather perish beneath the sun, this is still a better tomb than Deepground_ , she couldn't help but think as the bullet smashed against the broad-side of her blade. Watching as the sniper began to flee, her legs tensed for an explosion of movement to follow. If she was going to die, she may as well take out her killer in return…


	55. Chapter 55

**Another Chapter is here!**

 **Enjoy!**

"Are you sure you're okay to walk?" Tifa asked Aerith as she walked at the back of the group.

"I am," Aerith insisted gently. In truth, she was still hearing the voices inside of her head rather loudly, a collective of many as one while still remaining apart from each other at the same time. They were almost through the remainder of the temple, passing through the obstacles that were in their way largely because of the Elder spirit-body helping them to solve them in accordance to her wishes. Her friends were trustworthy and they were pressed for time, given what she learned from them of what happened outside and with Vincent.

Aerith had felt the presences within him before, the pull of the materia within him similar to how she could sense them normally, but didn't fully understand what they were before now. The additional wisdom she possessed from the Well of Knowledge changed that. The loss of the Protomateria meant that not only did Hojo of all people have one of the keys to starting up Omega, but Chaos was liable to run wild within Vincent. How they ended up inside of him was also an issue that needed to be sorted out later.

Still, it was hard for her to truly concentrate on things. The many different memories surfaced to her mind with every stray thought that could be remotely related to them. A thought of flowers would bring to mind the memories of everyone that had so much as seen one. Her own memories were struggling to rise to the surface of a lake of them, so to speak.

The unspoken words of the Elder encouraged her to bear with it. Once the realm collapsed, the souls tethered to the contents of the Well of Knowledge would return to the Promised Land. The voices would disappear while their knowledge and memories could be called up as though they were her own, though where the border between theirs and hers would likely be indistinguishable.

Relief spread through her at that. It wasn't her own relief, but that of the gestalt sharing their knowledge with her. They yearned to return to the Planet after so long of holding themselves back for the sake of this moment. They deserved to their rest as well.

As the door that stood carved into the stone face opened to reveal the murals on the walls, a sharp pain shot through Aerith's head. The countless voices whispered of danger, so loud that their voices drowned out her own inner thoughts. She staggered forward and nearly fell, only held up by Tifa by her side.

At the same time, Cloud brought his hand up to his head. "You're here, aren't you!?" he called out to the emptiness. "Show yourself, Sephiroth!"

 _"There is no need to call for me so loudly."_ As if summoned by the words of challenge, Sephiroth appeared in a semi-solid state. His appearance lacked the solidity of theirs, almost as if he was a mirage. _"After all, I am always by your side, Cloud."_

Fire, ice, and lightning flew towards him almost immediately, fired by Nanaki, Tifa, and Crimson. The magic passed straight through him, slamming against the floor and back wall. The Elder stood in front of them before they could try and attack him again, waving its arms frantically to stop them.

"He's not fully here," Aerith translated for them. Her words were collaborating with the voices within her mind. "His consciousness here, but his body isn't. Attacking it won't do anything since the Keystone brought us physically into the realm. You'll break the sealing mechanism at this rate."

Sephiroth, who hadn't paid much attention to their fruitless efforts, turned around and looked at the murals. "Impressive, isn't it? This temple is a priceless treasure room of ancient knowledge that can't be replaced."

 _Something feels… off…_ Aerith couldn't help but think as she listened to him. _There's… another voice overlaying his—another consciousness?_

"And what does that matter to you?" Crimson asked as he came to a stop in front of the mural of Meteor, presumably fishing for information. They couldn't touch him despite being in front of him, so it was the next best thing.

"It is the key to how I shall become one with the Planet," he said.

Aerith pushed back the voices in her head to speak. "And how do you plan to do that using Meteor? As powerful as you are, there should be no need for a spell that can only cause harm to the Planet."

"When the Planet is harmed, it will draw spirit energy into itself to heal the damage. The damage caused by Meteor and resulting fallout will return most of the souls to the Planet, and the spirit energy will be drawn to the site of the injury. By placing myself at the center of that energy, I will absorb the entirety of it and become a new life-form—the God who rules over all souls and carry it into the stars, as Mother did before. Soon, all of us shall become one…"

Then, turning to Cloud, their eyes met. "You too, very soon."

Something passed between them at that and Aerith felt the brush of the second consciousness spike within Cloud at that moment. He fell to his knees, clutching his head. "Aghhh!"

"That's enough!" Aerith said firmly. Her voice was overlaid by the gestalt and they all collectively pushed against the evil consciousness. **"Leave this place now!"**

The command dissipated his form entirely into a seething mist that rushed for the exit. The second consciousness overlaying Cloud vanished as well. He steadily rose to his feet and assured Crimson that he was fine when she asked, shaking his head to clear it in the process.

"…Thanks," Cloud told her. "But was what he mentioned possible?"

"… It's not impossible," Aerith said as her consciousness shifted through the temple in search of others linked to this realm, to ensure that the evil consciousness of Sephiroth was gone. He hadn't put up as much of a fight as she expected, even if she held dominion over the place with the collective inside of her. It was worrying for some reason. "But there's already a system in place with Omega to—"

Her words died as her consciousness flickered over to another set of minds outside of her friends. When she concentrated on it, she found herself overlooking the scene of Tseng on the verge of death at the hands of Argento. Her blade had run through his abdomen and, as she pulled it out, blood cascaded out of the wound as he fell to his knees. The blade was then chambered in preparation to take off his head.

Time stretched on as she watched the scene unfold, wanting to prevent it on some level. The voices with rightfully pointed out that he was undeserving of her help, sifting through her own memories and identifying him as an enemy of both herself and the Planet. And that was true to an extent.

The man was far from innocent given everything he'd been a party to. Yet, despite all of that, she'd known him for so long that few could claim to know her as well as he could. That and Aerith was tired of all the unnecessary deaths she'd witnessed since she began her journey.

The blade fell down and she insisted on being able to do something. The knowledge bubbled to her mind and a jolt akin to using a materia followed, sending an unfamiliar quivering through her body in the process as magic passed through it. Tseng's body and consciousness flickered and then he was abruptly in front of her in a flash of light. He looked confused, only to then cringe as the blood continued pouring from the opened wound.

Another insistent and desperate plea caused more ancient knowledge to bubble up in her mind. The quivering of magic surging through her body after a heavy jolt to her mind followed to trigger the spell. Her hands shone with a white light as she held them over the wound and began healing it.

"Aerith, why are you healing him?" Cloud asked tersely. The raw anger in his voice was clear enough to hear. "Have you forgotten everything he's done?"

"I know everything he's done, but…" She couldn't really justify helping him from anything beyond a personal attachment. Each and every one of them had been victimized by the man in front of her or the people he worked for, but she couldn't give words to the feelings she had that guided her into doing this. Only that she didn't want to see someone she'd known since she was a child die in front of her like this. "I'm sorry."

"… Do what you feel you need to," Crimson said in a hollow voice. If there was anyone here that felt healing him was a betrayal, it was her. "But while you're doing that, how much can you tell us about Sephiroth and his plan?"

Keeping her focus on healing, her answer was distant. "In regards for his plans, there's a basis for it that I can explain with the others. As for how he got in, I think that he found the temple using one of the people who have become his thralls and then arrived to project his consciousness inside the temple."

Tifa tensed upon hearing that. "One of them was here?"

"There was one inside of the temple when the people that brought me here arrived." A light fog of exhaustion was starting to cloud her mind now, making thinking harder. She pushed through it to continue. "But they executed him at the top of the ziggurat. I'm sorry."

"We found the four Deepground troops slaughtered at the top, but we didn't see one of the people in black cloaks," Crimson told her. "Nanaki, did you smell a fifth?"

"I caught multiple scents, including Sephiroth's, but since coming to this realm my ability to smell has been greatly dampened. I could not smell Sephiroth at all just now, but if he was simply a projection there would be no scent to trace."

"Either way, he might be on the outside wait…ing…" She trailed off as a headache like nothing she'd ever experienced started pounding away, cutting the flow of magic and leaving her wavering on her knees before Tifa braced her. "Just… give me a moment and… I'll finish."

"The bleeding has stopped," Tseng told her factually, before she could try again. "You've done enough to ensure I will not die immediately."

"You heard him, he's fine," Tifa said in seemingly placid tone. However, the fact that her hands were unintentionally tight around Aerith's shoulders made her actual emotions clearer. She was restraining herself from reaching down and strangling the man who contributed to the deaths in Sector 7 out of her respect for her friend. "Let's get that Black Materia and leave. Do you know where it is?"

Aerith took a minute to explain the set up of the temple. Namely how it was technically the Black Materia itself. To complete the puzzle to form it, someone would have to stay behind and be sacrificed for them to take it.

"Even if Sephiroth couldn't get inside on his own accord, he can still guide one of the people he's turned into taking it," Nanaki pointed out. "And now that he is positive of its location, he will act."

"I know, but there has to be some other way," Aerith said. There had been enough death today, which was her justification for why she saved Tseng. That train of thought sparked an idea. "Maybe I could do what I did with Tseng and teleport myself out after I finish?"

The Elder's spirit-body vehemently shook its head and forwarded a response to that. The realm they were in was only connected to the outside while the Keystone was active. Once the process began, it would automatically sever the connection and trap those within it. Teleportation wouldn't work between the two.

"That's no good either?" Cloud guessed, presumably from her expression falling and the spirit-body's reaction. "It has to be one of us has to do it after all."

It was Crimson who offered a solution, albeit hesitantly. "… Among us, Nanaki has obligations and can't physically do it, so he's out. Cloud, you're the only one of us who can physically keep up with the Tsviets and Sephiroth, and Aerith can help you fight off Jenova's influence. You're both out as well. That leaves Lockhart or myself as the best option to do it."

"Your math is off, former agent." Tseng rose to his feet, clutching his wound. Though it had been closed, he had lost a lot of blood and the pain was still there. "I will do it."

"We can't trust you," Crimson said pointedly. "Neither Sephiroth nor Shinra can get their hands on it, and I doubt you came alone. We can't afford to have you stall doing it."

"Trust doesn't factor into it when you don't have a choice," Tseng said. "Sephiroth has to be stopped, and so does Heidegger. The Ancient is the key to both and they know it, so they'll come after her again. Sephiroth himself is likely outside waiting to claim both the Black Materia and her at this very moment, so sacrificing one of you here and now will only serve to make his task easier."

There was truth in his words. And all of them knew it, whatever their thoughts on the man. There was a fight waiting on the outside of the temple and they couldn't afford to weaken themselves further.

He advanced towards the floating puzzle, unhindered by them as they weighed his words. "Besides, I have no illusions about being allowed to live or being placed in a position to escape with my current injuries, so this is the most logical course of action to take. Agent Elena has already been rescued and the President will learn of Heidegger's actions and rectify them. Once the rogue elements have been purged from the company, they'll secure and watch over Aerith. Until then, you'll suffice as her guardians."

Aerith's attempt to reach out towards him as he walked past her was cut short when Crimson intercepted her wrist. "Crimson…"

"Do you remember what we talked about that night I woke up in the Gold Saucer?" Aerith nodded to the question. "Then you know that I know how you feel. And you know how I feel about this. But we've lost too much already and Shinra is still our enemy. I'm the one making the call here, so you can blame me if you want when we're safe, okay?"

The voices in her head were agreeing with Crimson. And though Aerith wanted to find some way to refute it… she didn't have a choice. It was either sacrifice Tseng or one of her friends. It should be an obvious thing to do, but she didn't like the notion of doing it. Even if he betrayed her trust and did so many horrible things, there were so few people that she'd known for as long as she did him and how she'd came to see him before what happened in Sector 7.

The Elder walked closer to her while she silently stewed on that fact and held out its hands. Light flickered within it and suddenly she was presented with a new staff that had three materia within its slots and a Ribbon wrapped around it. It was offering the remaining treasures within the temple to her so that she could fend off the evil one no doubt waiting for them outside.

Taking the Princess Guard into her hands, Aerith realized she couldn't turn back. So she looked towards the man a final time. "Tseng, do you remember when I was lost in the Wall Street as a child?"

"I do," he answered without turning to face her. "What of it?"

"Can you tell me why you saved me that day and returned me to my Mother?" She clutched the staff tightly. "You had the chance to take me in then, but didn't. You could have always forced it, but you didn't until... until…"

"Until I authorized the destruction of Sector 7," he finished in an emotionless tone. "It was simply not ideal to return you at moment, and when that time arose, I did so. All of my actions, even this, are for the sake of the company."

"…I see." _So it was just me feeling strongly about that after all._

"I'll begin in 3 minutes," Tseng warned. "Make sure you're out by then."

They took that as a cue to move and made for the gate, where the Elder gave Aerith a gentle pat on her shaking hands. The path ahead of her would remain a difficult one, but for the sake of the Planet and as the one who carried their knowledge and wisdom. It wished her a long and rich life before joining it and the others in the Promised Land, and then ventured back inside to await its end.

The group stepped through the gate and ended up back at the top of the ziggurat, where they fell into the shadows. Crimson approached the altar and then pulled the Keystone out of it, sealing the entrance to the realm. Even if Tseng had second thoughts, it was too late now.

 _Goodbye_ , she silently said to both the souls of those within the temple and Tseng. The moment that the Black Materia was formed, they would all return to the Planet. _And thank you all for what you've done for me._

 **[-oOo-]**

 _120… 119…118…_

Tseng silently counted down the seconds inside of the mural room before he began to solve the puzzle. He knew what would happen and was prepared for it, so death was not something he feared. Every mission, every assignment, he resolved himself to die if the job required it—not to sacrifice himself for someone else, but for the sake of the company. At least, that was what he was convincing himself of at this very moment to justify why he didn't find some way or reason to manipulate the circumstances better.

 _104…103…102…101…_

Aerith's question brought the memories of a time long gone now to the surface, when he had been assigned to retrieve the Ancient after she had escaped from the laboratory with her mother. It had been he who had found Ifalna's corpse and quickly surmised that she had ended up under the care of Elmyra Gainsborough. It should have been easy enough for him to have a unit retrieve her then and there. Yet… he couldn't bring himself to do so upon seeing that child crying in the arms of a woman who had taken her into her care.

 _90…86… 82…78…_

So he suggested that they take time to assess everything before they forcibly took her, as it would likely be a repeat of the situation with Ilfana. They had other matters that they needed to dedicate their forces and resources towards, such as gathering more information on the Promised Land and Cetra before moving, and as long as they kept an eye on her they could bring her in at a later date or even convince her of returning of her own freewill. It was all sound enough that the President found valid points to his opinions and followed through with them.

 _60… 57… 54… 51…_

Somewhere along the way, watching her grow from a child to a young woman, he formed an attachment that he couldn't properly explain. The happiness that she brought to the others, the way she cared for everything, and the way that she cared about the world itself, left him wondering if she may have reminded him of the heart he had lost long ago for the sake of the company. He couldn't be sure if that had been the reason he kept hesitating, taking half-measures, and trying to help Zack when Heidegger was looking to kill him, but it didn't matter once AVALANCHE became active again and he had to act.

 _30… 25… 20… 15…_

He knew that she had found his acts unforgivable, but he wouldn't apologize for doing his job. No matter how much physical or emotional pain it caused her in the process, it would invalidate everything he had done to that point—a career and belief that he had lived for to this very moment. To apologize after everything else would be to undermine every action he'd taken for the sake of the company, so he was fine with dying in an act that benefited both rather than using one against another.

 _3… 2… 1… 0…_

Time was up. He began to solve the puzzle, each motion causing the structure to shake and shrink itself in the same manner as the puzzle. He only came to a momentary pause when he felt a presence behind him and looked to see that the woman who stabbed him was at his back.

"You're too late," he told her. "The exits are all sealed and in a matter of moments this building will collapse in on itself. Neither one of us will survive."

"I see." The news didn't seem to bother her in the slightest, given she made no effort to stop him. "This is fine then."

 _She's made her peace with death as well,_ he figured as she set aside her blade and sat down. For those who visited it upon others often enough through the shadows and battlefield, it was nothing more than an old acquaintance. For them, this was an inevitability that they accepted the moment they took their first steps along the path they walked in life.

That in mind, Tseng slid the final piece into place to entomb himself with his beliefs. Darkness began to close in as the realm that composed the Temple of the Ancients began to collapse in onto itself. He sat down with his back against the altar and then closed his eyes like the woman accompanying him as death came for them.

There was a brief moment of pain. Then the pain faded away. Everything faded away…


	56. Chapter 56

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Mugen Kahemaru: Nope.**

 **Exiled Soul Nomad: Yes it is.**

 **Enjoy!**

Crimson steadied herself as the land became stable once again. The ziggurat had shrunken before their eyes, growing smaller until there was nothing left behind but a pitch-black stone. The Black Materia fell to the ground, at the deepest part of the pit. As Cloud went to get it, sliding down the slope towards the bottom, Crimson finished going over a plan of attack with the others.

Aerith looked solemn as she stood there with her eyes closed, a hand to her chest as she listened. Perhaps she was offering a silent prayer to the fallen Turk? It wasn't as though Crimson wanted to sentence him to death, and she found no joy in doing so, but they needed to come out ahead given the stakes.

Tifa, on the other hand, had been mildly hostile the entire time. That was probably due to her final suggestion, when it came down to either her or Crimson to make the sacrifice as the others weren't expendable. They didn't get along well, so it was natural that she presumed Crimson would have used that as an excuse to get rid of her. That wasn't the case, and she tried to explain her logic.

Nanaki didn't have thumbs, so he couldn't operate the puzzle in an efficient manner. Aerith was the sole reason they'd come there, but if she could successfully teleport then they would have gone with that option. Cloud… no, she wouldn't have let him sacrifice himself. Even leaving her personal feelings aside and his combat-worth, Cloud was as much a victim of the company as the others and shouldn't have died for it.

By that same logic, Tifa would be the same after losing her home and everything. Crimson recognized that. But when it came down to it, the two of them were the only reliable choices.

Tseng couldn't be trusted to her. Not after he betrayed her by trying to take the life he had once spared. But there was literally no other way at that time.

Aerith stirred from her silence, casting her emerald eyes up to the sky. "He's coming."

Following her gaze, they spotted to the figure in black and billowing silver hair descending. It was Sephiroth. The time for contemplation was over.

"Hold him off as long as you can!" Crimson ordered as she tapped into the All Materia and Time Materia. The combination allowed her to spread the effects of Haste around her to speed-up the personal time of Nanaki, Tifa, Aerith, and herself. Then she grabbed Aerith and they darted down the slope to where Cloud was as he held a hand to his head, attempting to shake off the influence of Sephiroth's presence.

While they did that, Tifa flung Fire spells one after another. Relying on numbers rather than pure power from a higher-tier spell, she bombarded Sephiroth with fireball after fireball to distract him. Undeterred when the long sword intercepted them before they could touch him, she gave the signal for their next attack. "Red, do it now!"

Nanaki then let loose a Trine spell. The inverted and upright pyramids encaged Sephiroth. Lightning struck him from all angles, pinning him into place as Tifa then launched a Fire 3 spell next. The explosion of flames bloomed in the bright sky, consuming Sephiroth within the fire and smoke.

Then it was parted with a mighty swing of his sword. His eyes fixed downwards on Aerith, Cloud, and Crimson. A follow-up swing released a crescent wave of power that sailed downwards in an attempt to snuff them out as easily as the flames.

Aerith brandished the Princess Guard in response and a dome woven of crystallized light encased them with its protection against all threats. According to Aerith, since she took in the memories of the past Cetra, she now knew how to use magic without materia and had the knowledge of the spells they used. The Shield spell she cast negated the attack and remained active as Nanaki's Beta spell lit up the sky as it connected with Sephiroth.

The scorching wind and blinding blaze of the strongest fire spell that they had at their disposal rattled the distant treetops and kicked up dust around them for tense seconds, until it settled enough for Crimson to look towards Tifa and Nanaki. The reason they didn't use that spell often was because of the sheer destructive power it caused and collateral damage. Fortunately, the pair was encased in a shell of ice that buffered the heat, courtesy of Shiva.

The combination of fearsome attacks, back-to-back, piled onto him at once. It should have been enough to finish Sephiroth off, or at least severely wound him. However, as the smoke cleared, what they saw was something else entirely than what they expected.

All of the fire and lightning damage, burned flesh and charred cloth, were quickly being replaced. It wasn't healing or regeneration, but rather it was as though everything that had been damaged was being _shifted_ towards his arm as healthy flesh and untouched cloth took its place. No longer harmed, Sephiroth glared down at them…

No, not at them. Not as a whole. He didn't really see them as a threat. Instead, his gaze was fixed on Aerith until her brows folded inwards and she raised her staff. That act seemed to be the catalyst that made him decide to turn around and flee, rather than the damage they'd inflicted.

"We can't let him get away!" Cloud said, back on his feet as the Shield spell flickered out and an angry light flared from him. He grabbed the sword let loose a Blade Beam at Sephiroth's back. It cut through the air as a narrowed crescent of coalesced power, but only managed to sever the swollen arm due to Sephiroth shifting slightly to avoid it hitting the rest of his body. Cloud slammed his sword into the ground in fury at letting the man escape again. "Damn it!"

"We'll get him next time," Crimson said, hoping to reassure him as she set a hand on his shoulder. In truth, she had her doubts. They hit him with around half of their strongest spells and he still managed to recover before they could do anything. But they stopped Shinra from getting the Black Materia and got Aerith back, so it was a silver-lining. "We need to get back to the ot…"

The words died in her throat as the severed arm that fell to the ground with a wet sound began to move. The black sleeve and pale hand changed colors, morphing into a burgundy lump of meat. It bulged and bloated in front of them in a manner that reminded her of the Cargo Ship, only the meat swelled to greater proportions that threatened to crush them at the bottom of the crater they were in.

Cloud put his sword on his back and then grabbed Aerith and Crimson. With might bounds of his mako-strengthened legs, he carried them up to the top where Nanaki and Tifa were as the sack of meat ruptured like an overfilled water-balloon. The crater was flooded with liquid as another spawn of Jenova emerged from the depths, a different coloration from the other.

"I had my suspicions since I encountered two consciousnesses in the Temple, but now I'm certain," Aerith said firmly, tightening her grasp on her staff. "It was Jenova after all."

Surprise flickered on Crimson's face. But it was short-lived as the abomination's head released a bluish light. The attack hit Shiva hard enough that it sent the Summoning careening into the shell of ice that it created to protect Tifa and Nanaki. The shell shattered and Shiva dispersed into motes of light.

"Details later! Take it out now!" Crimson raised her arm and fired a Bolt 2 spell, seeking to electrocute it where it floated. Just the same, Tifa fired an Ice 2 spell and Nanaki let loosed a Fire 2 spell, opting for the balance between speed and power found in the mid-tier spell.

Neither spell reached in time before it conjured a greenish light that covered its frame. The coating rippled on impact with them, halting their advance for a brief moment. Then fire, ice, and lightning bounced right back towards their casters.

They braced themselves for impact, only for a prismatic shell to form around them at Aerith's beckoning. The Wall spell buffered them all against their reflected spells, before shattering into light that swaddled them as a second skin. Aerith let loose an exhausted sigh as shielding them a second time had put a strain on her mind and body, more so since she wasn't used to doing so without a materia.

"It put up a barrier that reflects magic the moment we fired," Crimson explained as Sense did its work. "I should be able to break it with the Destruct Materia."

That was as far as she got before spheres of water abruptly appeared around them and ruptured into a rushing torrent, carrying enough force that it knocked them all aside even with the protective spell around them. Wet and heavy, the sensation of being soaked was pushed to the back of their minds when they saw the azure flames that it launched afterwards. They broke to the left and right as the Blue Flame set the area they were in ablaze, forcibly split apart by a wall of fire.

The abomination then focused on Aerith, who was next to Nanaki after the split. It fired the Blue Light, one after another, as they ran. The shots were missing by what had to be pure luck, no doubt enhanced by the Luck Plus Materia aglow on her staff, but it would run out soon enough and she knew it.

"Everyone, buy me some time!" Aerith called out as a ferocious light radiated from her thin frame and she came to a stop. She hoisted the staff into the air as the light swelled from her body into the tip of her staff. **"Fury Brand!"**

That light then speared out towards the four others courtesy of her Limit Break. Strength flared within them, allowing them to fight back. Thus they began their counterattack.

Slotting the Destruct Materia into her Rekka, the weapon warped under the influence of the blood-red energy. It became as demonic as it did during the last time she faced one of Jenova's spawn. Though she disliked this Limit Break because of how it came about, Crimson couldn't deny the utility of it as she flung it at the creature.

As if sensing the threat it posed, the abomination that had been aiming at Aerith before twisted around to avoid being bisected. The empowered shuriken only managed to saw through the long and curving appendage that hung down its side, minimal damage at best. However, the Destruct Materia caused the Reflect spell to disperse, leaving it vulnerable to magic again.

A bestial snarl followed as Nanaki lunged for it, veiled within a spiraling shroud of crimson energy that shot him forward like a missile. His Blood Fang bore through part of its torso, dragging along with it visceral fluid and tissue that became nourishment and strength. He landed in a crouch and then darted away as it fired a stream of Blue Flame in retaliation.

Tifa put a stop to that by lobbing a ball of hoarfrost and rime over its face. The Ice 2 spell froze its head solid, blocking off the orifice to smother the flames. Nanaki, in turn, released a barrage of missile constructs that hammered at it and blew chunks out of its flesh.

Cloud, who'd circled around to the rear, then jumped towards the abomination. He delivered three vicious slashes that lopped off parts of Jenova's spawn into the muddy water. But before he could carve even more off, the abomination violently spun around to toss him into the air. He righted himself as he landed and brought the Buster Sword around to block the Blue Light it fired in a desperate attempt to buy time as it began absorbing the water at its base.

Even without Sense, Crimson could spot the fact that it was slowly regenerating the damaged tissue. "It's absorbing the water to heal itself!"

"Then we just need to get it out!" Tifa shouted back as she jumped towards Cloud. He caught her with the flat of the blade, leaving her to chamber her legs before he flung her. She rocketed towards the spawn and wrapped her arms around its elongated neck.

Then she kicked off its body and pulled as she threw herself back, using her Limit Break-enhanced strength to toss it over her head and through the air with a battle-cry before she let it go. The spawn of Jenova crash-landed over the rim of the artificial lake it made upon its creation, at the edge of the trees. "Now pin it down!"

 **"You're up, Odin!"** Cloud called before it could rise up again. The Fell Knight appeared with its crimson lance in hand. It jumped into the air and then brought the tip down as it fell, staking the creature into the earth and then remaining atop it. That way it couldn't rise again or reach the water.

"I'm ready! Everyone gather around me!" She yelled as she raised the staff to the sky and the Summoning Materia flared. **"Come forth, King of Dragons! Bahamut!"**

She buckled under the mental weight as light speared towards the sky and parted the clouds. A spiraling black figure descended from the opening to the heavens for a scant few moments, before spreading its mighty pinions and hovering in the air with lazy flaps that riled the wind beneath them. A mass of muscle bundled beneath jet-black scales and haunting yellow eyes, the dragon king rippling with power craned its narrowed head towards its summoner.

"Hold nothing back," Aerith said, wearily but firmly as she pointed at the abomination still pinned under the Fell Knight's lance.

It let loose a snarl in acknowledgement, seeing no need for words, and flapped its wings harder to get some distance. It was intent on obliterating everything. Pale light began to swell in front of its gaping maw and the glow as power coalesced began to eclipse the light of the sun.

Before it could cut loose, Aerith slammed the Princess Guard onto the ground. In less than a second the group vanished from the area as the spell teleported them to the shoreline. From there they watched as the gathered power was unleashed, spearing down towards where the Temple of the Ancients once stood, and blossomed into an expanding dome that eradicated everything within the radius of the blast.

Blinded by the light, deafened by the rumble, Crimson braced herself as the displaced winds threatened to blow her away as easily as it rankled the waves behind them. She could only remain oblivious to everything else until the light faded and the wind settled. Opening her eyes, Crimson was left in both awe and fear at the devastation that had been wrought—she'd seen bombing runs that had done less damage.

 _"I couldn't risk letting… even a part of Jenova's spawn… get away,"_ Aerith said in a weak voice, as though reading her mind. She was on her knees next to Crimson, supported by the staff that she clung to desperately in exhaustion. Blood was trickling down from her nose and her eyes were half-lidded. _"I just… couldn't."_

Pushing aside her shock at the destruction, Crimson kneeled down and lowered Aerith to the ground gently before she could collapse entirely once her grasp on the staff gave out. Sense was active and from it she could make out that Aerith had both elevated blood pressure and a frantic heart rate. "Aerith, you need to take deep breaths and focus on calming down. You've pushed yourself too far."

Aerith went on to the point of babbling. _"It's not Sephiroth running around… it's Jenova. He's influencing it somehow and… and if we don't get rid of it, it'll keep coming… adapting like how its spawn managed to counter both magic and fire—"_

"Okay, we'll listen later." Crimson pressed her hand to Aerith's forehead and found it was burning hot. "First we need to lower your heart rate before you have a heart attack or stroke. I'm going to put you to sleep to help."

 _"But I…"_ She trailed off as Sleepel was cast upon her. The strength to speak left her body as her consciousness sank beneath the spell. Aerith fell asleep quickly and soundly.

Crimson sighed in relief as her heart rate began to calm down. It wasn't perfect, but it was the only measure she could think of to tide her over. She pulled out her PHS and started dialing for the others to bring the plane back around, hoping that they did as she said and remained far enough out to sea so none of that caught them up in it.

Cloud walked up and crouched down next to her. "Is she going to be okay?"

"She should be, but we still need to get a doctor to look at her." If they made it back to the Gold Saucer then they could say the rescue mission was a success, even if not perfect.

They'd lost the Protomateria and there was no telling if or when Vincent would wake up. Or if that thing he changed into would be controllable without it. But they stopped Heidegger from getting the Black Materia and at least pushed back Sephiroth or Jenova, whichever it was. That had to count for something.

Now she could only hope that Kunsel did his part and rescued her mother. Whatever grievances that Crimson had with Tseng, she knew that his death had hit Aerith hard and that likely added to why she pushed herself to this point. She needed to have her mother back, otherwise there was no telling how she would cope long-term with it.


	57. Chapter 57

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Enjoy!**

Silently ruminating on how to enter the structure further ahead of him, Kunsel couldn't help but think it was ludicrous. He'd known Shinra had secrets hidden in the dark, but there was literally a lost city down here. And it had been there, hidden right beneath their feet, the entire time that they were working with Shinra.

It was insulting on some level that he hadn't suspected it was there until he collaborated with his contact in Midgar. The fact that the Deepground troops had suits that circulated a current of mako, had access to high-tier equipment, and were under the direct supervision of Heidegger, all pointed to the location being in Midgar. But it was Reeve who pegged that the headquarters had an independent power source, that the output was greater than needed to power the building, and that both Hojo and Heidegger were rarely seen leaving the compound, yet they weren't spotted inside for long intervals.

Once they knew that, it was just a matter of checking with the help of a Mini-spell and going down the ventilation system. From there, he learned about the hierarchy, how things operated, and where the Tsviets stood in things through an interrogation. It painted an ugly picture as a whole.

 _"Don't just stand around staring or you'll draw attention,"_ said a hushed voice from inside of his plundered coat.

He looked down from the building that most likely housed Aerith's mother and into his coat, where the plush toy that Reeve had sent along with him was. Since having it in the open would raise questions, he had it beneath the Deepground Officer uniform that he stole. "Any luck on finding the blueprints on the place from your end?"

"No. They've done a good job of covering it up." No surprises there. It was only deductive reasoning and luck that they found it in the first place. "But there's a lot of movement going on up here."

Kunsel's eyes traced the walls until he spotted a vent. If the building was built symmetrically, there had to be one in the back. They could use that. "What kind of movement?"

"Security is going around and searching for Heidegger. Scarlet has already been dragged from her office."

The former Second-Class spent a moment thinking on that abrupt development when a message rang out from the speakers that they had all around the hidden city. It called for all Deepground military personnel to assemble and prepare for combat. Putting the information together in his head, Kunsel came to a conclusion and moved quickly. "Get out of the building and head to the rendezvous point."

The black cat stuck its head out as Kunsel turned around and went into the back road, narrowly avoiding being spotted by the others who were heading out to actually attend the assembly. "What for?"

"Something must've happened that tipped Rufus off and now he's going after the senior members who would know about it. There's no way he'll let this slide since Heidegger was already on thin-ice. And when you factor in that Heidegger has been biding his time and managed to get control over this much firepower—"

"There's no way he'll let it go. He'll fight for it."

"And chances are it'll go poorly for Rufus and spill out into the city." He crouched in front of the vent. It was too small for even a child to fit, but Kunsel had done smaller. First, he needed to get grate off of it. That was easier said than done, given he was trying to avoid drawing attention and the facility was no doubt made to house people like him with a certain level of durability.

The plush toy began to pace back and forth while Kunsel used an Ice spell to freeze over the grate. He was hoping to make it brittle enough to break rather than pull it off. "If he kills Rufus, he'll get control over Shinra. And with the amount of control they have over the media already, covering it up won't be difficult if there aren't any witnesses that would speak up."

"And just to make sure there's no competition, he'll get rid of you and Palmer either way—" He slammed the bottom of his mako-strengthened fist against the frozen grate. It shattered inwards, leaving the frame intact. "—so he'll be left unopposed and with all the resources the company has at its disposal."

Path cleared, he gestured for Cait Sith to enter with one hand while grasping another materia with the other. The toy crawled into the tight squeeze and waited for Kunsel to shrink himself down enough to fit inside as well. From there, they ventured within the connecting passages as quietly as they could, looking through the openings to check for any sign of Elmyra.

It was when they were partway through it, at a point where the shafts crossed one another to the extent of being a maze, that Kunsel's enhanced hearing picked up the familiar voice of Heidegger. He held a hand up to stop the black cat behind him and then gestured for them to go down the left passage. There they found themselves in what looked to be the central control room, with Heidegger and Hojo inside, along with a younger-looking girl standing off to the side with a woman leaning against the wall, both of whom had red-hair.

The girl briefly averted her eyes from the bewitching materia that the men were fixated on to ask the woman, "What happened to Argento?"

"She was in the temple when I arrived and has not reported back in. Perhaps the fleas managed to overpower and kill her?" The woman shrugged without concern at the possibility of one of their comrades being slain. "If so, then she was simply too weak to be of use."

Her expression was unchanged as she turned away from the woman. But the vestiges of an emotion could be seen on the girl's face. However, it was fleeting and passed when Heidegger pulled his attention from the beautiful materia to Hojo.

"This had better be worth it Hojo," Heidegger said, glaring at the man. "We lost a great deal of assets to get this Protomateria of yours from those rats and the Ancient got away with the one I actually wanted. If this doesn't give me the results you promise…"

The amoral scientist merely adjusted his glasses at the implied threat left hanging. "Oh, I assure you that this is easily worth the loss of a few SOLDIERs. With this, we can control the primordial WEAPON that slumbers here once the conditions are met. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that you now hold the power of the Planet in the palm of your hand."

The way that Hojo let a low chuckle out at that sent a warning chill up Kunsel's spine. The fact that Heidegger now had _another_ weapon of mass-destruction only served to raise the stakes even further. And from the sound of it, they took it from Crimson's party.

Hojo then turned to the woman in red as she looked down at her clawed gauntlets in the same manner one would look at their nails. "How did he react when you removed it? Were there signs of physical change or instability?"

"He turned into the Beast," she said. "It is as you predicted."

"Professor Crescent's research was on-point then. Soon it will only be a matter of time before he succumbs to it, and with the Protomateria we'll control Chaos as well." Placing the Protomateria into his pocket, Hojo made for the door. "I'll see to it after I have released Azul from the chamber. His modifications should be done."

"Finish within the hour and have him come to the assembly." Heidegger turned to the red-haired pair. "Rosso, you're heading back out so get a fresh current of mako running in your suit. Shelke, block all communications using a SND and make sure no messages get in or out. It's time that we put Rufus in his place."

Kunsel recognized the names from his information-gathering. Rosso the Crimson was known for being the most bloodthirsty of the Tsviets. Considering how she smiled in a manner that was both sweet and dark, as if enthusiastic of the chance to join in what was sure to be a slaughter, he didn't doubt the validity of it. Shelke the Transparent seemed to specialize in information-manipulation, notable for looking rather young despite being around Yuffie's age.

Cait Sith's attention seemed to linger on the girl, whose blue eyes that shone with the color of mako seemed almost blank as she got into a machine while the other two left out. Whatever she was doing seemed to be taking her full attention. But she was still a SOLDIER and that meant if they spoke carelessly they could be overheard, so Kunsel gestured for the toy to follow him as they headed back to the maze of ventilation shafts.

"One of the people I've been trying to get to join my new organization has been looking for a girl named Shelke Rui," Reeve explained using the toy as a mouthpiece. "She had supposedly been kidnapped by Shinra around seven years ago. I told her that I would look into it, but I never suspected that she would be here."

Kunsel took a moment to consider their options. Leaving aside the fact that whatever they had done to the girl made her unlikely to come quietly, they still had to find Elmyra. But, at the same time, letting whatever Hojo had planned go unhindered left him uneasy. If they really took that materia from Crimson's party and were intending to use it against them, then he had to get it back—and kill Hojo before he could cause even more problems.

Making up his mind, the former Second-Class pulled out an Exit Materia. It had been keyed to return them to the rendezvous point. He un-shrunk it and passed it to Cait Sith. "Go find Aerith's Mother and get her out."

The plush toy looked between the materia and Kunsel. "Okay, but what about you?"

"Feel free to leave without me," he said. "I can make my own escape once I get that materia back from Hojo."

 **[-oOo-]**

Elmyra Gainsborough paced the room, still dressed in her green dress and jacket. She hadn't been tied down after they shoved her into the room, but she couldn't break free of the heavy steel door that locked from the outside. Yet, despite being locked in that small room surrounded by metal walls, she only had her daughter in her mind.

They hadn't told her anything after they'd gotten Aerith's word she'd do what they said to keep her safe. There was a very real chance that they'd never see one another again, even if Aerith complied. They had used Elmyra as a tool to bring Aerith to heel and would continue to do so, using her daughter to their own ends despite the fact that she was meant for greater things.

That hurt the most, more than anything that happened since they'd taken her. Aerith was being made to obey the people who hounded and hurt her since her birth because of Elmyra. Her lamentation over that fact and her worry were what moved her feet, despite the fact that she was tired.

"Elmyra!" Tension ran up her spine as she thought she heard something. "Up here."

Elmyra looked up to find a black cat with a crown and cape was waving at her. She just stared at it curiously, wondering if the lack of sleep was getting to her. Just to be safe, she rubbed her eyes and found that it was still there.

The plush toy continued to talk. "I was worried that Heidegger had done something to you after those two kidnapped you. Are you okay?"

"…Richard?" The toy nodded. Her confusion gave way to anger. "Or should I call you Reeve Tuesti. That's who you really are, aren't you?"

The fact that the man whom she had been seeing was actually one of Shinra's board members had been an unpleasant revelation. The little girl who'd nearly caved his head in had informed her of that fact while she had been led away. To say that she felt betrayed was an understatement.

In response, the black cat glumly hung its head in shame. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

"You orchestrated everything between us, didn't you?" Just like she had said about the orphanage, there was never anything good below the surface. "You were manipulating me since that day we met."

"… I won't lie further and say that I didn't have ulterior motives. You deserve better."

The anger bubbling up in her chest spread throughout her body at the admission. "I always knew that you couldn't trust anyone from Shinra! Liars, manipulators, and murderers the lot of you—even going so far as to kidnap and indoctrinate children of all people!"

"That's what I'm trying to stop," it said softly in response. "That's why I searched you out after that day you told me your last name. I was hoping to expose Shinra for all it had done and uproot the current people in charge. So that things like what happened to Sector 7 wouldn't ever happen again."

He sounded… sincere. And, if she had to admit it, part of her wanted to believe it. She had enjoyed spending time with him and, despite the immense feelings of betrayal that roiled around inside of her chest, she wanted to believe him.

"Elmyra, do you know what it's like to watch your life's work cause most of the problems in the world?" The toy slumped against the vent, dejected. "I wanted to make life better for people and saw Mako as a way of doing that, so I designed the Mako Reactors. And look at what's happened since then: Shinra used them to build a monopoly and raise an army. They oppressed the people, waged a bloody war over the right to plunder their lands, and that doesn't even cover all of this right now."

Moving closer to the vent, she asked, "Then why did you stay?"

"Because I thought I could at least curb their worst behavior, to make up for my role in turning Midgar into this nightmare it's become. But I was powerless to do anything when they dropped the plate of Sector 7. They wouldn't even let me organize repairs or a support system for those who lost everything. Even the orphanage was a struggle to get running. I… wanted—no, I needed to reform the company and expose what it had become."

"And you wanted to use my daughter to do it?" she guessed.

"She and her friends were the only ones who managed to do something under their own power. I was hoping they could help me somehow. I'm not proud of it, but I wanted to change things for the better. For everyone."

Again, he sounded sincere. But no matter how sweet the words and promises, she couldn't forgive him. Even if she could let the betrayal pass, getting Aerith involved was something she wouldn't forgive. "I can't forgive you for trying to manipulate my daughter. Not after all she's been through. You're no different from Tseng in that aspect."

The black cat nodded slowly in acceptance. "Even though I did come to love the time we spent together, I was dishonest about my intentions from the time we met. So I can't blame you for hating me for it. But at the very least, we need to get you out before Rufus and Heidegger go to war with each other."

She gave him a wary look. "We?"

"I had help getting this far, from a former SOLDIER known as Kunsel. You know him right?"

She nodded. He was the one who gave her the phone and she'd seen him a few times around Aerith. In fact, they were traveling together for a time. "What about my daughter? Have either of you heard anything from her?"

"Just a few minutes ago we overheard Heidegger saying that she got away. Her friends managed to save her. Now we need to get you out of the city and send a message so they can't force her to work for them any further."

Elmyra breathed out a sigh of relief at the news that her daughter was safe. The thought of leaving her home and all the memories they had there were bitter, but the time for nostalgia was long gone. Staying there only served to give leverage to that monster of a man and mad scientist. "What do you have in mind?"

The black cat slipped its gloved hand behind its back and then reached into a hidden compartment beneath the cape. It pulled out a Magic Materia and then slipped it through the vent. She managed to catch it before it hit the ground.

"That is an Exit Materia," Reeve explained through the plush toy. "Use it and you'll be taken to where Denzel and my mother are with an associate of mine, Mister Arkham. They'll take you somewhere safe, a tropic little place on an island to the south called Mideel."

Again, they were the words of someone who had betrayed her. But she wanted to believe them. It would be a gamble, but it was better than the alternative.

Focusing on the materia, a gentle jolt to her mind pulled her away from the small room and towards safety.

 **[-oOo-]**

Hojo couldn't keep the smile off his face as he drained the tank housing the subject that survived his successful melding of a behemoth in an earlier experiment.

The Protomateria was the key to Omega, and that fool Heidegger was just handing it to him without realizing what he was doing. Only an imbecile would believe it to be something as crass as a weapon of war. It was more of a vessel to house the world's knowledge and the key to gaining the infinite knowledge of the cosmos.

After the tank drained, the brute stepped out and shook his head. It wasn't unexpected since the process of integrating innate magical abilities into beings that had none was a very difficult process. Their bodies would often fail, unable to handle the strain. Nevertheless, his vitals were stable for the most part and that was good enough to proceed.

"We need to test the duration of how long you will be able to maintain the barrier using the virtual reality system."

The brute's head snapped up and he raised his nose to sniff the air before snarling. "First we need to take care of a rodent problem, Professor."

Hojo supposed the modifications that enabled his ability to transform had also altered his base senses to a greater extent than ordinary SOLDIERs, but the news of a potential rodent infestation left him unpleased. He had demanded sterile working conditions to avoid the risk of contamination in his experimentations. Is that so much to ask for?

However, that became a secondary concern as the brute picked up the tank he was formerly in. The tank had been reinforced to avoid having subjects within it break out from the inside, so it was reasonably durable given the need to house this particular subject. Backed by his peak physical strength, it easily broke through the ceiling.

"What sort of rodent would require such extensive damage!?" Hojo demanded as he shielded his head in the event that any shrapnel or scrap metal fell down. It was like burning down your own home to kill a flea. More so since this was his lab and the equipment would take days to replace.

Just then, a silhouette descended from the ceiling and then shot forward towards Hojo. The brute intercepted, moving in front of the professor and then swinging his arm around to knock away the assailant. They ended up hitting the opposing wall hard enough to dent it, revealing it to be one of traitors that had tortured him.

The brute cracked his knuckles and bared his teeth in a predatory manner. "One that must be thoroughly crushed, Professor."


	58. Chapter 58

**Another chapter is here!**

 **artfully: lol**

 **Enjoy!**

"Scarlet has talked," Reno said, standing before Rufus Shinra in his office as he read his report. "We've got troops stationed outside of all the entrances and ready to breach. We've also gone ahead and relocated both her and the weapon she had been working on using the confiscated Huge Materia."

"Good. Make sure that her cell is as small and uncomfortable as possible," Rufus said. Though he wore an impassive expression as a mask, there was a barely-restrained fury in his voice.

He had outright declared that everything that was his father's was to be his, yet Heidegger and Scarlet had hidden an entire elite military force beneath his very feet. After he'd gone out of his way to simply relegate the man to working with their current military force, rather than fire him after that blunder in Costa del Sol. And the cost of that was, according to Agent Elena, several potential assets—and Tseng as well.

"Are the preparations for the breaching ready?"

"Yes, sir," Reno said. "We've also armed the most promising and experienced troops with the anti-SOLDIER armaments that we had on-hand. But, even if we catch them off-guard, we expect a lot of casualties in the process of retrieving Hojo and Heidegger. If we wait an hour or so, we can have the reinforcements from Junon join in the initial assault."

"We don't have that luxury," Rufus said. "Heidegger must pay for his treasonous—"

His decree was cut off as Dark Nation barked in alarm and darted past the desk towards the window. At the same time, Reno reached into his coat for his firearm and yelled, "Sir, get away from the window!"

Rufus turned and rose from his seat to the sight of two figures hovering outside of the window with jetpacks. The dark clothing with luminous blue streaks from where mako circulated matched the description given of the standard Deepground troops. And they both had shoulder-mounted RPGs, aimed straight at the office. He didn't get the chance to move before they opened fire.

In an instant, the wave of force and deafening roar of the explosion swallowed his senses. When the moment passed, Rufus found himself lying on the ground. The taste of iron in his mouth and the ringing in his head made it difficult for his wavering consciousness to piece together how he was still alive. He forced his head up, the world rocking on its axis, to see that Reno was still in one-piece as well as the Turk approached him.

 _"…Sir…ar…ou… okay…"_ Reno's voice was drowned out by the ringing as he helped Rufus onto his feet.

Rufus felt his lips move but couldn't hear himself speak while the ever-present ringing tolled away in his ears. However, he did notice the smell of ozone that permeated the room, along with the acrid smoke from everything around them burning. He turned towards the blown-out window to find Dark Nation there.

The guard hound had scorched patches of fur that gave way to burned flesh. A leg was missing, glass shrapnel was wedged deep in its flesh, and half its face was melted to the bone. The cost of blocking the two rockets as best it could to protect its master with its Barrier was steep indeed. Yet, with a full-throated howl that seemed to reach Rufus' ears through the annoying ringing, it released a Bolt spell with all of the power that it could muster.

The bluish-white bolt of serpentine lightning forked out into branches that caught the two aerial assailants. The electricity crawled over their frames and jetpacks, frying the internal circuitry and causing them fail with explosive results. They fell towards the ground in a smoking spiral as the injured hound collapsed in a pool of its own blood.

Rufus rose to his full height, despite one of his legs being numb, and then limped over to the guard hound. Dark Nation was breathing shallow breaths, laced with pained whimpers. He kneeled next to it and ran his fingers along its head a final time. "You did good, boy."

Dark Nation gave a final chuff and licked his palm before it laid its head down and closed its remaining eye. Its breathing stopped. The guard hound that served its master faithfully to the final moment passed away in peace, its duty fulfilled.

"Sir, we need to vacate the premises and regroup in Junon," Reno said. When Rufus took a look at him, he found that the Turk had pulled away a panel of the floor to reveal the escape hatch that had been installed during the renovation in private. Heidegger shouldn't know about it, meaning it would be their ticket to getting out unseen.

"Order the assault to begin," Rufus said as he made his way to the escape hatch. "If anyone gets into a position to kill Heidegger, have them take the shot. He doesn't deserve a cell."

 **[-oOo-]**

The steady, resounding thump of boot soles on the catwalk followed Kunsel as he ran.

The ache that rippled through his ribcage worsened with every movement and breath he took, reminding him of the last time he'd tussled with behemoth of a man. The blow he received had cracked or fractured them at least, broken at worst, and it was as annoyance at best that would slow him down in a confrontation with the Cerulean Tsviet. As much as he wanted to retrieve what was stolen from Crimson's group and put an end to Hojo, he just wasn't capable of doing so as things stood.

So he fled out of the building with the information he had, navigating through the twists and turns of the city nestled beneath the ground. While he wasn't as strong as Azul was, Kunsel banked on the fact that he was at least fast enough to outmaneuver him as he ran with all the speed his SOLDIER enhancements could grant him. All he had to do was make it to the underground hangar from where they launched their aircrafts and break through it, so he could escape to inform the others.

"Priority Target is in Sector 5! I repeat, Priority Target is—" His gravity-enhanced blade swung down upon the blue-clad, helmeted trooper radioing in his location. "—Agh!"

Even as distant explosions and gunfire thundered repetitively, marking the start of a siege upon the city in the underbelly of Midgar, Hojo had gotten word out that he had infiltrated. In response, various Deepground troops were sent to take him out. Kunsel didn't even have time to get the blood off his blade before more heavy footfalls reached his ears.

He jumped over the red and white-painted railing that separated one platform from another as he continued on with his escape plan. Bullets smashed into the platform and walls as his pursuers opened fire from behind, sparks dancing around him from the hail of metal. Then the entrance to the monorail opened and brought with it another unit of four, three soldiers led by a single heavily-armored one armed with a blade.

They joined in with a spray of bullets of their own and several found his flesh, slamming into and bruising his skin as his enhancements strained under the higher-caliber rounds. But he endured them and flung an Ice spell at the four on the cart, letting the frost do its work to freeze over their visors. He then took a leap of faith from the catwalk to the moving railcar and brought down his spellblade as he descended. It wedged itself deeply into one of the luckless soldiers as he stuck the landing, flipped the switch to reverse the direction and velocity of the cart while the others worked to remove their helmets and regain their sight, and then swung his blade around to catch another.

The third tried to take aim with their rifle and blast him in the head at zero-range. Kunsel planted his boot into the soldier's chest, knocking him off the moving cart before his blade met that of the heavily-armored swordsman as they passed through the corridor and into the city proper along the rail threading it. Their blades crossed points several times as they worked to keep their balance while trying to kill one another.

A section of the building next to them exploded in a spray of stone, dust, and glass in the midst of their battle. Shrapnel tore at Kunsel's skin, sharp bits biting into the flesh but unable to pierce it. However, the distraction opened him up to an attack on his shoulder that ran with blood from the serrated blade.

The swordsman smirked at drawing first blood until the next building between them ruptured like the last, preceded by the sound of gunpowder igniting akin to heavy artillery that they couldn't ignore. They both looked to see that Azul was on a cart following them, a smirk on his face as he relished the hunt. Smoke was wafting up from the barrel of his cannon as he aimed to fire a third time, and it was clear he didn't care if he hit someone on his own side.

The former Second-Class kicked the swordsman into the line of fire and then leapt away as the third round was fired. One swordsman dead, one cart destroyed as he grabbed onto the ledge of a nearby building. Pulling himself up with a single motion, before the next round of heavy artillery punched a hole in him, Kunsel ran across the roof and bound to the next one to maintain the head start he had on Azul.

The pursuit only came to an end when he reached the final building that stood at the edge of city. Paved stone gave way to un-chiseled earth that stood to the side of one of the hangars that led to the wastelands surrounding Midgar, where a battle was being waged between the breaching forces of Shinra and the forces of Deepground. Machines of war were dispatched on both sides, streaks of light from their continuous gunfire joining that of the soldiers killing one another, while controlling the entryway that had been breached by an explosion that left warped metal surrounding it.

It was his way out, providing he could get to it. However, before he could formulate a plan to get there safely, he felt death crawling up his spine. Instinct turned his head upwards to see Azul descending with his hammer-end raised.

The building-shattering impact resulted in a tower of stone dust and rain of rubble while throwing Kunsel into the midst of the battlefield. He landed with a sloppy roll and got to his feet before the confusion of the abrupt attack wavered on both sides. Then Azul came down with another heavy swing of the hammer and the blow shook the earth around them as Kunsel jumped away and triggered his Summoning Materia. **"Phoenix!"**

The Summoning was released with a blinding, golden flare that rivaled a miniature sun. The light begot heat as it expanded the reach of its power. Iron and steel, flesh and bone, all surrounding the summoner and summoning was superheated and then turned to cinders. Those that were far enough to be spared instant death were instead blinded by the light and scorched by the heat, forced to scramble away before their flesh was peeled from the bone and turned to ashes.

While Kunsel moved to escape, there was one individual that refused to let him flee. Braving the brilliant light and radiant heat to strike him down, while shrouded in a Barrier, Azul charged for him. Phoenix moved to intercept, but it made no difference as the Cerulean Tsviet rammed both of them straight through the breach that he'd be trying to get through.

Kunsel was sent tumbling onto the ground outside, adorned with more fractures along his skeleton that threatened to snap like brittle twigs with enough pressure. Phoenix laid limp some distance away, wounded as well. That was when he heard the screams as Azul walked through the opening, batting aside the unfortunate Shinra troops that stood between him and his target.

"There is no longer a place for you to flee!" He roared as he backhanded the nearest soldier and swiped his hammer to knock the rest attacking him out of the way. "Now, face your end in battle!"

As he closed in with violent intentions, the drive to survive numbed the agony coursing through Kunsel's body in time with his elevated pulse. He had to beat him if he was going to get away. The resolve to do brought forth a fiery light that encompassed him, a Limit Break.

The battle-hungry Tsviet smiled. To pit his strength against that of others, to reach the pinnacle of what was possible, that was what he sought the most out of anything. He would prevail against his opponent's strongest attack and deliver the final blow.

Kunsel gathered air into his lungs. He poured strength into his sword-arm. Holding the blade behind him, Kunsel slid his foot forward as the light of the Limit Break swallowed his weapon whole from top to bottom.

Then, faster than the unenhanced eye could see, he swung the blade as though he was attempting to cut the man from shoulder to hip. A wave of energy fired from his sword in the form of a crescent blade. The first of the strikes meant to cut down his foe at a distance flared brightly as it sailed forward towards the Cerulean Tsviet.

Azul saw it coming. It was faster than he could dodge for certain. But he could tank it easily enough. It wouldn't even scratch his tempered skin.

The second wave followed as Kunsel swung a second time. The attack met the first in midflight and combined with it, forming a large cross. It easily possessed twice as much power than that which had came before it.

That elicited effort on his part to deal with, so a Barrier sprung into existence in front of Azul to intercept it. The Tsviet was certain it could weather that level of damage. Even if the defense gave out, the impact would be lessened and he could press forward.

Then, with a heavy exhale that shook his lungs, Kunsel strained his arm as he swung a third time. The act released a final wave of energy that surpassed the strength and speed of the first two. It was the desperate bid of a desperate warrior, a gamble of a lifetime that couldn't be matched.

The wave caught up to the cross and formed a six-pointed star that met the transparent defense. The impact released a shockwave as the Barrier held for a moment. Then it shattered like glasswork, leaving the Tsviet open for attack.

 **"RRRAGGH!"** Azul's roar and figure were swallowed by the light of the technique as it slammed into him, before rupturing with a thunderous detonation that displaced the air and dust that shrouded them.

His energy spent, Kunsel fell to his knees. That took everything he had. He gasped for breath as he supported himself on his blade, heart thundering in his chest. Then a familiar voice rang out, stilling his heart and lungs for a pause.

"Not bad." From the dust Azul emerged, striding forward with his weapon in hand. The attack had done damage, tearing open his outfit and scarring his imposing chest with a wide mark from where it had been burned into him. "I will remember this strength for some time to come."

The former Second-Class forced himself to stand and ready his gravity-imbued blade to intercept the incoming hammer. He didn't have the strength in his legs to dodge, so it was all he could do. The clash of force was settled in a single moment, where the blade that had been made to put up with intensified gravity and super-human strength finally gave out.

It shattered into fragments, leaving less than six-inches of jagged steel at the base of the hilt as the hammer continued on and found its way into his chest. Blood forced itself up through his throat and out of his mouth with a horrible, sickening sound as he landed some distance away on the ground. His ribs had been destroyed under the weight of the blow, snapping after so much abuse to this point, which was the source of the sharp agony spreading through his chest every time he drew breath.

Phoenix rose with a shrill, indignant cry as it sensed its summoner's peril. Setting itself aflame with a golden flare to blind those around them, it used the distraction of light and heat to spear towards Kunsel. Plucking him up less than gingerly, it then rose into the air to spirit him away before he could pass out and cause it to dissipate.

The Cerulean Tsviet opened fire at the fleeing pair with his cannon to deny their efforts to escape; expending shot after shot. The Summoning shrieked as one of its wings was caught by a blast, sending it spiraling over the outskirts of Midgar. Distant gunfire reached Kunsel's ears as they fell, leaving him to think that the Shinra soldiers resumed their attack now that a clear enemy had been identified. The roar of a Behemoth spelled out their fate.

Phoenix twisted around so that it met the ground at an angle to protect the one that had allowed it to be reborn. A pained shriek left its beak as it struggled to maintain its form while it skirted along the lifeless earth, a dirt cloud trailing after it until it skid to a stop. A somber warble that could be mistaken for a dirge followed as it slowly fell apart into motes of light, leaving the former Second-Class to lay where he did.

Kunsel tried to rise. But he couldn't even drudge up the strength to do so. There was nothing left at this point. Not even the rumble of tires skidding to a stop nearby could stir his body into moving as hurried footsteps followed.

"Kunsel, can you hear me?" It was Reeve's voice, followed by his face as he crouched down to look at him. "Are you still alive?"

 _"El—"_ A bloodied cough wrenched itself out of his throat as he tried to say a name. He took a wheezing breath and tried again. _"Elmyra?"_

"She's safe. Arkham already has her and the others en route." He looked out into the distance for a second before trying to help him to the car. "We need to leave."

Reeve helped him into the passenger seat and then shut the door. Then he climbed into the driver seat and pushed down on the gas pedal. "There's a doctor in Kalm who has experience with patients that have SOLDIER enhancements. He'll see to it that you make it."

 _I have to tell the others what I've learned,_ Kunsel thought as he noted the pain in his chest and abdomen finally stopped, replaced by a dull numbness. Even as his racing pulse slowed steadily to a crawl in his chest, with each beat seemingly deepening and drawing out, Kunsel could only think that if they were going to be facing the Tsviets then they had to get better and fast.

Allowing Zack to die alone had been the first of his greatest regrets. The fate that befell Luxiere was another grand regret that haunted him. He couldn't help but constantly think that maybe he could've changed things if he'd made more of an effort. That maybe he could have changed their fates if he'd been more proactive.

That was part of the reason he had kept moving all this time, making the effort to keep helping them whenever he could. So that they could survive where his best friends didn't, and the people Zack entrusted his legacy and heart to could continue on. He couldn't do that if he was dead.

 _I should… probably apologize to Crimson too._ He never did make peace with her over the fact that she lied to him either. But if things were going to get harder they couldn't let that hold them back.

Kunsel's head grew lighter as his breathing grew shallower. Even keeping his eyes opened was growing steadily harder. He tried to shake his head to stay awake, only to barely shift it to where he noticed that Reeve's mouth was moving, but he couldn't hear his voice.

He couldn't hear anything. It was as if the world had gone silent. He tried to move his lips next, but they felt as heavy as lead and words wouldn't form in his throat. That realization that dawned snuffed the hope that he'd felt mere seconds ago.

 _Not yet…_ Desperate to live, he tried to force his body to keep functioning. He tried to pour his determination and will to keep going into his dying heart, even as he felt his pulse grow fainter. _Not before I can help them._

"…"

A voice, soft as a feather, on the fringes of his consciousness went unheard as he continued his fruitless struggle to deny death. Even as he felt his mind failing him with every passing second. _Not before I can tell… them…_

 _"...ay."_

The voice, though louder than before, was drowning in the regret that was building within the former Second-Class SOLDIER. He didn't want to die. Not before he could accomplish anything he set out to do. _Not… not… yet…_

 _"Kunsel… it's okay."_

…The world that faded into darkness brightened with a soft, pale-green light as the voice finally reached him loud and clear. It was one he hadn't heard in years. He swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth as he attempted to say the name that hadn't left his mind for a second. However, the words refused to leave his throat.

 _"You've done everything you can."_

A familiar figure appeared in front of him, eyes the color of the sky as clear and proud as the day they'd met. It was definitely that of the man he'd wanted to honor, not the attempt of his dying brain to cope with the inevitable. It was his idol, his role model, his friend, all tied into and tethered into a single person.

A shuddering breath left his mouth in lieu of the words he wanted to say to Zack this time. There were so many things that he had to tell him that happened over these last few months, let alone the years since they'd seen one another. There were things he wanted ask too, like if Zack would be proud of what he'd done to this point.

 _"Yeah, you did good. Just like a hero would."_

Just hearing those words of assurance from him were enough to unshackle Kunsel. It freed him entirely of the regrets and doubts he had. Unburdened of the weight that pressed down on him, he felt as light as feather as Zack extended his hand for him to take.

 _"Come on. You've earned a break."_

He grabbed the outstretched hand and let it pull him forward.

 **[-oOo-]**

Aerith woke up to the sound of her own soft cries in the Tiny Bronco. Even while she slept the voices of the Planet could reach her should they need to. So when she heard the familiar voice calling her from within it, she couldn't help but shed tears after her worse fear had been realized.

A friend had been well and truly lost for her sake.

"What's wrong?" Tifa asked from next to her. The others, who had been debating on whether or not to wake her when she began crying, were watching carefully. "Did you have a bad dream? Or are you in pain?"

"We need to go to Kalm." She slowly wiped away the crystalline tears and wet trails they left. "That's… that's where Kunsel's body will be. I want to return it to the Planet myself."

Crimson's expression froze as she picked up the underlying meaning. Then she turned around in her seat to where Aerith couldn't see her face. Her voice was hollow as she said, "Cid."

The pilot understood without further elaboration. "Yeah, I'll get us there."

Their flight would be haunted by a solemn silence the duration of the trip.


	59. Chapter 59

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Enjoy!**

"He suffered extensive internal trauma from blunt force," said the doctor, a middle-aged man named Kilmister, as the group arrived in the morgue of Kalm's hospital. He pulled the metal slab out of the cold chamber and peeled back the blanket covering the muscular but slim outline, dispelling whatever doubts they had about the identity of the corpse. His dark hair lay unruly on its perch, eyes opened to reveal that the mako-color had lost its luster.

"The damage done led to internal bleeding from the bones ripping open blood vessels, punctured organs and so on." The doctor shook his head slowly. "It was a miracle that he lasted as long he did, even by SOLDIER standards."

A myriad of emotions roiled in Cloud's chest at the sight of Kunsel's body, making it hard to look at the corpse. He couldn't claim that he knew the man very well, what with how quiet and reserved he seemed to be most of the time. But he had come to respect the former Second-Class during the times that he had been around.

Kunsel had been frank and honest with him the entire time, even when the truth had been unpleasant. His skills with a blade were always a cut above Cloud's, but he didn't hesitate to tell the latter of how strong he could be with enough training. And he always did his best to assist the group out of a friendship that lasted even after death, even when it put his life on the line.

 _Even when it got him killed by Shinra._ The stray thought brought a vivid flash of memories as Cloud recalled that day out in the wastelands, where Zack had met his end. He shifted his gaze to avoid looking at the corpse further and settled it on the others. They all had varying expressions depending on how well they knew him.

Cid had the least interaction with the man, so the best he could manage was the condolence you would offer someone for their loss. The others hadn't had much emotional investment either, but they had respected him for everything he'd done. Even if they hadn't gotten along, he was an ally that they had fought alongside in the face of overwhelming numbers. There was a sense of camaraderie that tied them close enough to him that his loss was one that still stung, and it was a reminder that, despite everything they'd survived to this point, any of them could be next.

Aerith had the most overt reaction, having known him the longest. She was silently holding her hand over her mouth, crystalline tears threatening to leave her eyes anew since she'd woken up. Given that his death had been tied into the rescue of her mother, she was no doubt hit the hardest and was doing her best to hold it in.

As for Crimson… she showed no reaction at all. Her expression betrayed virtually nothing as she stood next to Aerith. It was as if she had locked away her ability to express any sort of emotion as she addressed the well-groomed man standing off to the side, Reeve Tuesti.

"How did you two meet?" she asked.

"In light of what happened to Sector 7, I had been making preparations for dealing with Shinra. I tried to be discreet, but evidently I was drawing enough attention that he figured it out quickly enough while establishing connections of his own." He shook his head slowly. "I am sorry that I was unable to help him in time. My proxy and he were separated in the midst of searching for Elmyra, and by the time I managed to reach where he landed it was too late."

"…His soul returned to the Promised Land without regrets," Aerith said. "So I'll return his body back to the Planet."

She approached Kunsel's corpse, gently closed his eyes, and then set her hands on his temples. The air around the body began to waver until ethereal, pale-green streamers of light began to rise from it. In an instant they were countless in number as they drifted throughout the room like dandelion seeds caught in a breeze, passing through the walls and scattering out into the world, until the body was gone.

The resulting silence that had enveloped the morgue was broken only when Crimson turned to Reeve and asked, "How much did he tell you before all of this happened?"

Reeve stood straight and folded his hands behind his back. "He informed me of everything you've been involved in as far as Sephiroth and Shinra go until the kidnapping. I was also made aware of his contacts and acquaintances to better pool our information network. In light of these circumstances, I will cooperate and give you all the support I can in your endeavors."

"Then we need to decide what to do next. How informed are you of the situation with Heidegger, Hojo, and Midgar at the moment?"

"My proxy hasn't been discovered as of yet and is currently keeping tabs on the situation," Reeve said. "Heidegger has relocated himself to his office in the Shinra Headquarters while Hojo remains underground, in his laboratory. Midgar itself is largely under the thumb of the Deepground forces, but the citizens haven't come under harm as of yet. He's likely securing it before Rufus can properly mobilize all the assets that are available to him and lay siege to reclaim it."

"Then infiltrating it right now will likely be too difficult," Crimson said. "I can't imagine he lost too many of his own forces and he'll likely be guarded by the Tsviets."

Reeve agreed. "Indeed. It may be in our collective best interests to observe how things unfold for now. I've gone ahead and arranged lodgings for everyone. Should the situation change, I will inform you first thing."

"I'll head to my room then and watch the News to see what's happening elsewhere." That said, she turned and briskly walked out of the room without looking back.

"She feels guilty," Aerith said afterwards. "There was unfinished business between her and Kunsel. He wanted to settle things with her and make amends, but he never got the chance to do so. If she's left alone then she'll throw herself into working to avoid feeling anything."

"Sometimes you gotta do what you have to keep goin'. If you stop you won't be able to start again," Barret said to that. "Think I'll go pour one out for the guy and then call Marlene. Been too long since I heard her voice."

"I'll join you for that drink," Cid said, before turning to Aerith while reaching into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes. "And you remember what I said in Wutai, right? All of you chose this, including him. If the guy went without regrets, then that's not a bad way to go, so don't go cryin' for the guy and blamin' yourself."

His words weighed heavily on Aerith. Yuffie as well, considering that a pout formed on her face as she sided next to Aerith. She glared at his back as he left out with Barret. "I'm going to go sock that insensitive jerk in the mouth!"

Before she could, Aerith set a hand on her shoulder. "No… he's right."

"But your friend just died and he's telling you not to cry because it makes you sad! It's not right!"

"That wasn't what he intended to convey," Nanaki said, bringing attention to himself from his perch against the wall. "He was a warrior, who fought for a cause. Death had been alongside him the entire time. Though it is regrettable, he died for something he believed in and his memory will live on with us."

Vincent spoke next. "And the ones responsible will be made to pay for it."

"He died knowing that he lived up to a legacy that he wanted to, and did what he set out to," Aerith added last, to round out the conversation. "Most people don't get that much, and their regrets become chains even after death. He was spared from that much at the very end, knowing that he did everything he could and succeeded."

 _A legacy… Zack's, was it?_ Cloud ruminated over the thought. To be a hero and protect his honor as SOLDIER were what he considered his legacy. Entrusting them to Cloud in the form of the Buster Sword, did Zack die with no regrets as well?

Was Cloud living up to the honor and dreams Zack cherished? What would he think of allowing his friend to die? The questions only served to make his shoulders feel heavier.

"I'm going to get some air," Aerith announced. "I'll see everyone back in the Inn later."

"Hold on," Reeve said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a PHS. "This PHS is unregistered and has a direct line to my associate, Mister Arkham. He's current escorting Elmyra to a small town known as Mideel, far removed from Shinra's sight to the far south. I believe that you would both do well to speak with one another."

"…Thank you," Aerith said, holding it to her chest.

Cloud watched her leave with the others deciding to give her space, with the exception of Tifa. His friend from their fallen home gave him a look, an unspoken inquiry into whether he was alright or not. She would listen if he needed her to.

"I'm fine," he said. Her lips pressed thin, as though she could see through his attempt to mask his inner turmoil. "Just stick with Aerith. She needs it more."

"She's not the only one who needs someone they can open up to," Tifa said. "Letting it out to someone you trust is sometimes the only way you can move forward. Not bottling it up or running away from it."

Cloud frowned slightly as he lowered his head. That wasn't aimed at him alone. He couldn't think that way after everything Crimson told him in Wutai and what she was doing now.

It… wouldn't end well if she was left alone. But she wouldn't be liable to listen to anyone trying to help her aside from him or Aerith. And it wouldn't be right to put that kind of pressure on the latter while she was still grieving.

"I'll go talk to Crimson once I've thought about what to say," he told her.

 **[-oOo-]**

It took Tifa a good, long while to find Aerith, despite the fact that she had left not even a minute after Aerith had. And even that was only because she noticed the distant flare of orange and somber cry that seemed to ring softly in her ears. Drawn to them like a moth to a flame, she found the last of the Cetra beyond the walls of Kalm, sitting on the ground and comforting a downed Phoenix with its head on her lap.

"You shouldn't go so far out alone," Tifa said, noticing the grass surrounding them were smoldering, tendrils of smoke wafting upwards.

"I didn't want to risk Phoenix scaring someone when I let it out, so I teleported out here to be safe," Aerith said. "It was born because of Kunsel's actions in Fort Condor in a sense, so it imprinted on him. His death left it crying out in its Summoning Materia and I couldn't ignore it."

"I get that, but should you be doing magic after what happened on the island?" Tifa asked. "I mean we don't even know how it works, so if something happened we wouldn't know where you'd gone."

"It's not all that different than how I returned Kunsel's body to the Planet," Aerith said. "I turn the body and mind into spirit energy and then use the Lifestream to transport it through the nearest vein before reassembling them to their natural state. It's only stressful because the current is so great that if I don't shield everyone against it then their spirit energy and consciousness will be scattered by the great flow. But if it's just me alone and I'm rested, I can do short distances without too many problems."

That sounded a lot less safe than she was suggesting, but Tifa brushed it aside to focus on how Aerith's eyes were still wet with fresh tears as Phoenix continued to softly mourn from its perch in her lap. She approached and sat down next to them both. "You want to talk about everything that's happened?"

"I… It hurts," Aerith confessed. "It hurts more than anything since this was the sort of thing I always feared happening. Shinra took away my birth parents, kidnapped my adoptive mother, and they've tried to kill all of you so many times already. Now, in a single day, I lost two people who I've known for years because of them, and I'm still sorting through all of the ghost memories and experiences that have made themselves at home inside of me. It's a lot to take in all at once."

"Yeah, I bet." Tifa set a gentle and reassuring hand on Aerith's as it came to rest. "I can't say that I fully understand all of the magic and Cetra stuff. But I can relate to losing so much in a single day. I know that pain of losing the people you care about, your home, everything."

"I know," Aerith said. "Every one of us has lost so much already, so I don't have the luxury of grieving about my own problems. It would be selfish to spend my time crying when there are so many others around me suffering, and I have to keep going to fulfill my duties as the last of the Cetra."

"I think it's okay to be a little selfish." Tifa moved her hands up to Aerith's shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. "It's okay to cry or shout if you need to let the pain out."

Aerith's lithe body began to tremble, rousing the Phoenix into raising its head. She wrapped her arms around Tifa and began to bawl. _"It's not fair… it's not fair, Tifa. Tseng… Kunsel…they shouldn't have died because they were helping me."_

"I'm sure neither blamed you for what happened," Tifa assured her.

 _"I know, but it still hurts."_ She set her head against the crook between Tifa's head and shoulder as Phoenix stood up and wrapped its wings around them both, offering its support as well. _"They still had things they could have done! People they could have met! Memories they could have made! And now they can't!"_

"Just let it all out," Tifa said in a soothing tone, holding her close. They remained there like that, kept warm from the night air by the vermillion bird, until Tifa's PHS began to ring. She scowled as she reached for it and found that it was Barret calling.

"Answer it," Aerith insisted as she broke the hug, wiping her tears away and taking a deep, staggering breath to gain control of herself. Her eyes were red from the shed tears, but they looked slightly less burdened than before.

"You sure?" she asked.

Aerith nodded. "It might be important."

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson sat on her bed, the light stemming from the television largely ignored. She had muted it when she realized that she would learn nothing of what was actually happening in Midgar. That was no doubt media manipulation on Heidegger's behalf, hiding the truth of his takeover as best he could. Rufus would likely make an announcement once he was ready to march on the city, justifying it to the outside world.

Focusing on the information that they learned from Aerith on the way there, compiled on paper with a pen, she drew a line between the immediate threats and facts: _Heidegger had Deepground and the Tsviets under his command. Hojo had the Protomateria and knew about Chaos and Omega. Heidegger didn't and believed them to be a weapon of tactical and military importance. Azul now had an inherent barrier…_

Thoughts of the Cerulean Tsviet inevitably led to those of Kunsel, leading to a whisper of guilt bubbling up in the back of her mind. It pushed back against her efforts to crush it down, forcing her to dedicate the mental effort needed to go over the facts towards shifting her thoughts in a new direction. Namely that they needed to find a way to take advantage of the situation and reclaim the Protomateria.

That was what was most important—a world-ending threat on par with Meteor and Sephiroth. Not Kunsel. Not the fact that they killed him. Not anything relevant beyond what was on the list in front of her.

"Just bottle it away and focus on the task at hand, everything else comes afterwards," she told herself as she set down the pen and placed her hands on her ears, as if hoping to drown out the inner voice that was thick in accusation. She recited it over and over, smothering all the thoughts relevant to the fallen until the door opened. It was Cloud.

She removed her hands from her ears and stood up. "Is something wrong?"

"Can we talk for a bit?" he asked.

"If it's about Kunsel, right now it's better to focus on the civil war between Shinra and Deepground, and getting the Protomateria back."

"That's…" He trailed off for a moment, reconsidering what it was that he wanted to say. "That is important, but I get the feeling that you're walling yourself off rather than trying to deal with it."

"I'm just… prioritizing things," she reasoned. "Once everything is over… once we've dealt with Shinra and Sephiroth… then I'll deal with it."

"But when will that day come?" Cloud asked. "There's always a setback or battle to be fought for us, and there's no telling when we'll reach the end. Tomorrow? Next week? Next year? What'll happen if another one of us falls in battle before then?"

Crimson's lips pursed at that. He was right and she knew it as well, given her earlier discussions and her plans. "Even so, what good will talking about it do? There's nothing I can do to change what's happened. Believe me when I say that I thought about it a lot on the way here."

Maybe things would have changed if they'd killed Azul earlier. Or maybe if they'd stopped the Protomateria from being taken by Rosso in the first place. Or if they'd insisted that Elmyra go into hiding before it got to that point. But they didn't and he was dead.

"But there's more to it than that, isn't there?" Cloud stepped closer to her. "Aerith said that you had unfinished business with him. That you felt guilty because of it."

She tensed as he hit the nail on the head. Sure, Kunsel helped them because he believed that they were doing the right thing, and wanted to help Aerith and Cloud out. But there were no casual conversations after their argument in Cosmo Canyon, and she never did follow-up with her promise of owing him a drink the last time they were in Kalm. It was such a small thing, but it carried such a huge weight now.

"That was my fault." All because she wanted to deny what he was saying was right. And while she finally did accept that it was a part of the reason she acted how she did, Crimson never told him that she was in the wrong for what she'd done. "He had every right to be mad."

"But he wasn't anymore," Cloud said, taking another step closer. "Aerith said that he wanted to patch things between you, but he didn't get the chance. That got me thinking about how you said that you wanted to be more open with other people back in Wutai. Since tomorrow isn't promised to any of us, it's best to do so while you can."

Crimson closed her eyes tightly and balled her fists. She wanted to end the conversation there, to put it off until later. But that would be no different than what she'd done before with Kunsel. She'd put off apologizing for one reason or another, and now she never could.

Cloud reached out for her, setting his hands on her shoulders. "Kunsel once told me that you should accept what's happened and push on, so that it doesn't weigh you down. But to do that, you can't just hide it away and say that you'll settle some day. You should speak your mind so that you don't have regrets, and who better to start with than someone willing to listen?"

 _"…Fine,"_ she said, a hitch in her voice that sound strained. "I feel like it's my fault. If I hadn't lied to him to save face, then maybe something would have changed down the line. Maybe I would have been able to convince him to do something differently, or at the very least, I wouldn't feel this weight in my chest of what could have been."

Her eyes began to sting now, so she brought her hands up to cover them. "But now I can't tell him that or make up with him. And it makes me so mad that I was denied the chance to do that—mad at Azul for killing him, mad at Heidegger for kidnapping Aerith's mother, mad at Shinra for everything they've done… and mad at myself for my part in it all and not doing what I could sooner."

She pressed her head against his broad chest and reached around his frame, leaving her fingers at his back. "Cloud, it feels like too much to handle if I don't bottle it away."

"Then don't try to bear with it alone," he said, carefully wrapping his arms around her back as well. "Like I said in the Gold Saucer last night, I'll listen to you whenever you need me to. So you don't have to bottle it up. Will you do the same for me?"

"Of course." She wiped her eyes before looking into his. The color reminded her of both Zack and Kunsel, but she didn't look away. "Say whatever you need to and I'll listen."

"I was supposed to be Zack's living legacy, and Kunsel believed in me to carry that out," Cloud continued. "Until now, I've been uncertain about how to do that, and how they would. The best way I can think of is to fight and be the hero that they believed I could be. So I want to tell you how I feel, so I don't have any regrets myself if I meet the same end."

Her heart skipped a beat in her chest at that. "You don't have to—" Her PHS started ringing. "We should probably get that. Save it for later?"

"I want to finish before something else pops up," he insisted. "Since the beginning, you gave up everything to keep me safe. Even when it pitted you against the people you worked alongside and put you in danger. When I thought I was someone else and acted in their name, you were the one who strived to keep me from doing something I would regret when the truth came out. You've tried to help me find myself afterwards, and hide things that you think would have upset me."

"I… I told you that's because when I'm with you, I feel like I can become a better person," she said, ignoring the phone as it continued to ring. "You gave me a second chance, so it's natural for me to feel this way. But you don't have to feel obligated because of it."

"It's not an obligation," Cloud said. "To me, you've become someone that I don't want to lose. Someone I care about and want to protect. I want to stay by your side and see you become the sort of person that you want to be, no matter how long it takes. And I want you to see me become the sort of person who can live up to their legacy. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

… It was too much for her to take all at once. The grief, the guilt, the feeling welling in her chest at his answer—they overwhelmed the former Turk all at once. Unable to control it, she let her body react on its own accord and found herself crying in his arms, even though she hated the thought of him seeing her so vulnerable.

For his part, Cloud simply held her tight against him as the bottled up feelings expressed themselves… right up until they heard the door burst open. It was Yuffie.

"Why aren't you answering your PHS—" Yuffie paused mid-rant when she noticed them close together. " _—ooohhhhh…_ I probably should have knocked, huh?"

Crimson turned her head away from the girl as she pulled away from Cloud's embrace. Being vulnerable in front of Cloud or Aerith was one thing, but it was another for the others. "Why are you here, Yuffie?"

"Uh, I guess you were distracted so you weren't paying attention to the News." She pointed over to the television that had been muted. "Something big has happened. A massive information leak on all the bad stuff Shinra's been doing."

"What?" Crimson turned her attention to the television where the blue banner at the bottom stated 'Shinra's Dark Secrets Revealed!' in white letters. She grabbed the remote and un-muted the television.

 _"—as more information arrives by the second on the unethical human experiments carried out by the Shinra Electric Power Company, preliminary investigations cross-referencing missing person reports have resulted in several matches being discovered so far. This, combined with evidence of espionage, corporate sabotage, and assassinations, including the sanctioned destruction of Midgar's Sector 7 Plate, has revealed that the company's rise to power has been—"_

"How did this happen?" Crimson asked, utterly stumped at the report. An information leak of this scale was a nightmare of unbridled proportions for a number of reasons. "Who did this? Did they cite a source?"

Yuffie delivered the answer to that with just a note of hesitation. "…They said earlier that the group claiming responsibility for the leak is AVALANCHE."


	60. Chapter 60

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Reaper2908: Keep on reading and see.**

 **Enjoy!**

"You were supposed to be preventing this sort of thing," Heidegger said in a damningly quiet tone as the News report streamed in through the monitor. It was almost passable as merely disappointment. That was, if the tone wasn't backed by how he was practically red in the face with palpable fury. "So how did this happen?"

He was addressing the prepubescent-looking member of the Tsviets, Shelke Rui. The redheaded young woman was an example of what happened when someone who wasn't a suitable candidate was put through the SOLDIER enhancement procedure. It stunted her body's natural growth, leaving her frailer than adults who underwent the same, and required daily treatments of mako to keep functioning, rendering her utility limited in terms of combat.

"There seemed to have been some kind of virus implanted within the system, introduced during the attempt at breaching by the main forces of Shinra. Given the circumstances, most of my attention was on the—" Her explanation was cut short as Heidegger's hand connected with her face, backed with enough strength to send her to the floor.

"I don't want to hear excuses!" he roared, spittle flying from his mouth as he glared down at her. "You had one damn job and you failed! What good are you then?"

Hojo supposed that it was a logical emotional response, given the circumstances and Heidegger's personality, as he watched on impassively at the scenario being played out. Her unique ability to perform an SND, even before the treatments, was her real contribution to Deepground. For that to be undermined and lead to this situation naturally lowered her worth as a whole in Heidegger's eyes. More so considering there was another, superior individual capable of doing so.

Though Hojo's name was implicated dozens of times over in the information leak, it hardly bothered the scientist. He cared nothing for the opinions of others. One could not be a true scientist if they did. His only goal was attaining the knowledge and mysteries of the world.

To everything else he was quite apathetic…well, _almost_ everything else. There were others who had earned his ire and would meet their comeuppance soon enough. But even that could be made productive.

"Now I have to waste my forces preventing anyone from getting above their station while dealing with Rufus," Heidegger said to the downed girl. "All because you couldn't do your job. Do you know how infuriating that is?"

"…I can only apologize for my failure," she said in the same monotonous tone as before as she rose to her feet and stood again. Even if she was the weakest of those labeled Tsviets, she was still durable enough to remain largely unharmed by the slap. And the conditioning they put her through, at a time when her mind was more pliable, meant that she wasn't likely to retaliate.

Even if the thought crossed her mind, the chip in her neck prevented her from acting upon it.

"I don't want your apologies! I want you to be useful for once!" Heidegger turned to the monitor and opened up a different tab. "So I'm assigning you and Rosso to a stealth operation that can end this fiasco with Shinra's entitled brat once and for all. You'll both be heading to Junon with different tasks that I expect you to complete without failure or detection. Otherwise, you will be terminated."

"Acknowledged," she said without hesitation. It was common knowledge that there was no room for failures in Deepground, so the punishment wasn't a surprise. She simply had to not fail in her mind. "What are the mission parameters?"

"Rosso will be in charge of securing the airship stationed there before Rufus can take it," he said. "No sense in wasting it after all the funding and time we put into it. She'll be accompanied by a few others to ensure that she doesn't go off the mission. I would have preferred Argento instead of her, but it's safe to assume she's gotten herself killed uselessly. I guess that's as far as her usefulness was in the end."

Hojo noticed a slight narrowing of the girl's eyes at the mention. Did that mean she had some kind of sentimental attachment to the woman? Nonetheless, Heidegger didn't notice as he brought up a map of the area on the left-side of the screen, while the right displayed a schematic of the weapon.

"You'll be planting a prototype, reusable bomb that Scarlet and I developed using one of the Huge Materia we retrieved. With your cloaking ability, you'll slip through the elevator shaft and head down into the Underwater Reactor to set it into place. Then our problem with Rufus will be over right then and there. The aircraft you'll be taking will land out of the radar range to avoid detection, and you'll head out immediately."

The girl acknowledged the orders and then left out of the room.

Hojo decided then to speak as he gazed up at the schematics. "This device is designed to forcibly draw mako out of the surroundings within a range that easily makes up the majority of the coastline and condense it in a manner similar to how one would crystallize a Materia or create a Makonoid. Placed right over a reactor, everyone within Junon that doesn't end up encased within it would likely either suffer a case of fatal mako poisoning or run the risk of mutating along with the surrounding wildlife in both the land and sea miles out. There is no means by which the girl will escape the range of it before it essentially rips out the mako threading her cellular structure and kill her."

"Her blunder allowed for this to happen in the first place," Heidegger said, dismissing her ultimate fate. "We have to show the world what will happen if they oppose me. Now get back to work. I want that Protomateria weaponized as soon as possible."

"Of course," Hojo said, a small and imperceptible smirk forming on his face. "I'll get right back to it now."

As he left the room, Hojo thought he saw something in the corner of his eye. He turned to look towards that direction, but found nothing barring some equipment with a gap between it and the wall. He brushed it off as only a rodent. Really, was it so hard to get sterile working environments these days?

 _No matter,_ he thought to himself as he proceeded towards his lab to continue his plans. _It won't be long now._

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson and Cloud joined the others to watch the News report together, after stressing to Yuffie not to mention a word or question what she saw for now. They didn't need that getting out while a flood of confidential information kept pouring out of the reporter's mouth. It was all damning, a nail in the coffin to whatever good press that Shinra had.

"It's 'bout time it all came out," Barret said with a grin as he watched. "No more hidin' it from the public now. All their dirty little secrets are out."

"I still don't like that someone is using our group's name though," Tifa said. Her expression was more fixed and focused as her eyes remained on the screen. "What did the others in Cosmo Canyon say?"

He hunched his shoulders up in a shrug. "They don't know who it is usin' it either."

Crimson, on the other hand, was rubbing her eyes and trying to drown out the steady drum of her blood in her ears. While she imagined it must've been cathartic for them, she couldn't stop thinking about how much of a nightmare this was. "This is the worst possible time for this information to come out."

"You might be right," Vincent said as he rested his back against the wall. He seemed stable despite losing the Protomateria, so that was a positive. "Things were already tense between Rufus and Heidegger, but this information leak will change things drastically. At the very least, the war between them will escalate quicker."

Crimson nodded. "Not to mention more groups supporting AVALANCHE after this will pop up. They'll likely start attack reactors and supply warehouses, arming themselves with no oversight to get ready to start fighting them."

Barret gave her a skeptic look. "And that's a problem how?"

Crimson, moving her hands to her hips, turned away from the television to address him. "It's a problem because both Rufus and Heidegger won't hesitate to reassert themselves through force so that they can focus on each other and then us. With everything horrible they've done out in the open, they don't need to do subtle anymore. Worse, regardless of their division, both sides still have armies and weapons of mass destruction. Can you imagine how that's going to play out when they're on the verge of war?"

Tifa at least seemed to grasp the point quick enough. "What happened in Nibelheim and Sector 7 and Gongaga and Rocket Town can happen anywhere else just to get the message across. They can't rule by deceit anymore, so they'll rule by fear and force. And they'll justify it on our group for leaking the information."

"Well, cat's out of the bag now," Cid pointed out. "The question is what do we do about it?"

"We can probably minimize the damage done over time. Right now though, we need to know who leaked the information in the first place and used AVALANCHE to do it." Crimson frowned as she thought through the facts in her head. "We need to find out who benefits from it the most, and would be in a position to get the information in the first place."

"I can't imagine that Heidegger would find any benefit in this," Vincent said. "Having to divide his forces makes things more complicated for him so shortly after his coup. And Rufus has to try and assemble his own forces to deal with Heidegger's group of smaller, but more elite soldiers. The last thing he'd need while trying to reclaim his company is the discord that would ensue by releasing the information."

"Well, what about that Hojo-guy?" Everyone turned to Yuffie, now standing next to Vincent, at that. "I remember that rant he was going on about in Costa del Sol, after Tifa knocked him out the first time."

"He would be in a position to do it," Crimson agreed. "But why spill everything to the public?"

"…He wants to create a situation to awaken Omega and Chaos as soon as possible," Aerith said as she rose to her feet. "One of the conditions to awaken them is that there needs to be a large loss of life, filled with regrets and other emotions that would taint the Lifestream. The Protomateria can control them, but unless that condition is met, neither will awaken fully. And what better way of doing so than creating a situation where conflict could spread across the Planet?"

"So Hojo's pulling the strings behind this while Heidegger is sheltering him under the belief that it can be used to create a weapon," Vincent said. There was more than a hint of hatred permeating his voice. "He hasn't changed at all."

"Yeah, but now that we know we can go get it back to stop him," Yuffie said.

Crimson, regretfully, shook her head. "Underground, surrounded by mako-enhanced troops and the Tsviets, Hojo's in a position where no one can reach him easily. Getting in through brute force won't be an option. We can't even get into Midgar with how he's gotten it locked down."

"We have to try," Aerith insisted. "If things escalate then chances are Omega might wake up after all. Once it begins to carry out its functions, Chaos will awaken in Vincent and try to kill off everything to hasten the end of the world."

"And then there's Sephiroth and Jenova still lurking around," Cloud said, after ruminating silently until now. "Remember how Sephiroth was talking about using the Black Materia to cause the Planet to gather as much of the Lifestream as it can to a single place? What's stopping him from using this as an alternate method?"

 _Like father, like son,_ Crimson couldn't help but think. Then she turned to Aerith. "Is it possible to destroy Omega as a last resort?"

"…I believe so. And if it comes down to being necessary to save everyone else, we very well may have to do so," Aerith conceded. "However, Omega plays an important role to the Planet, more so than the other WEAPONs. If we do so, there's a very good chance the others will wake up and start destroying everything."

The powerful, towering monsters specifically created by the Planet to defend it against threats thousands of years ago were dormant for the most part. But destroying Omega would be liable to awaken them and have the group perceived as a threat to be eliminated. The power they possessed could easily level cities, and there was no guarantee they'd stop at attacking just the group. In a worst case scenario, the fact that harvesting mako energy was killing the Planet might be enough to label all of humanity as a threat to be eliminated.

 _"Nnmm…"_ Crimson's brows folded in thought. No matter how she looked at it, everything seemed to work against them. "The best course of action would be to prevent it from waking up in the first place. There's no getting around the fact that we need to get the Protomateria back, but going in headstrong would be suicidal. We have to wait for an opening we can exploit, but if we wait too long it might be too late."

The door opened and Reeve entered, holding by some kind of toy cat. He didn't look as jovial as one would expect cradling a plush toy. Instead, urgency threaded his features as he shut the door and made his way to the center of the room. "You may not have that luxury, I'm afraid."

"Have there been new developments with Heidegger?"

"My proxy has just overheard him issue an order to two of the Tsviets to head to Junon and carry out a stealth operation against Rufus," he said. "Rosso the Crimson has been tasked with stealing the airship that had been built, rather than leave it in enemy hands. The Tsviet known as Shelke Rui has been ordered to place a bomb that could potentially wipe out the coastline."

"What kind of bomb could do that?" Crimson asked. A missile strike she could understand, even if it wasn't liable to work given the batteries and garrison in Junon. But a single bomb capable of the much destruction was unheard of… at least until Reeve told them of the bomb and what he'd overheard from Hojo and Heidegger.

Then she swore under her breath. "Damn it. He's really going to do it."

Aerith was also appropriately horrified. "Not only will that kill every living thing within it, but the Planet itself will suffer with a huge segment of the Lifestream ripped out and crystallized. It'll make the wasteland surrounding Midgar seem mild and the WEAPONs will definitely begin to attack humanity as a whole."

"And that's what Hojo wants," Tifa added to the conversation. "Not even a day and he's getting what he wanted."

Yuffie's concern was more local and immediate than the global scale the others were focused on. "Priscilla and the other villagers will be caught in that. We can't let that happen!"

"And we won't." Crimson looked between them all. "No, in fact, we're going to use this to our advantage. If we do things right, we can stall both sides from going into open war and waking Omega."

"Sounds like you've got something in mind," Cloud said to her. "Let's hear it."

"We've gotten in Heidegger's way too many times for him to ignore us anymore, especially after Hojo leaked that info and blamed it on us. So if we eliminate the two Tsviets, get this bomb, and steal the airship, he'll come after us rather than trying to deal with Rufus. While he's chasing after the airship, a team of us can slip inside of Deepground to eliminate Hojo and Heidegger, and get the Protomateria back."

"That sounds all well and good, but first we got to get there in time," Cid said. "The Bronco is fast, but in the time it takes to get there we'll be too late if they've already taken to the air and crossed the water."

"I can get us there in time," Aerith said. "My teleportation moves us through the Lifestream and pulls us through a vein back to the surface. Mako Reactors are basically larger, artificial veins that forcibly draw from the Lifestream. If I use it like a beacon while we're in the flow, I can deposit us there with ease."

Crimson was skeptical there. Not because of the explanation, but because not even a day ago she did that to pull them from the Temple of Ancients to the beach and had nearly killed herself. And, given the look that Tifa was also giving her, she wasn't the only one that shared those same doubts. "After what happened the last time, I don't think that trying that half-a-continent away  
would be wise."

"There isn't another choice." There was firmness in Aerith's voice as her emerald eyes met Crimson's. "I had been going all day yesterday and wasn't rested, not to mention the fighting with Jenova. I've rested enough to get there without any trouble. This time will be different."

In the face of her conviction, it became clear she wouldn't be deterred. She was going to do it one way or another. The best Crimson could do was mediate it somewhat. "Can you do it in hops, rather than one jump? That way we can be sure without putting too much stress on you."

Aerith nodded, settling the discussion. Everyone made to move when the stuffed toy that Reeve was holding sprung to life. It jumped out of his arms and gave them a wave.

"I'll be coming with you," it said. A moment of silence lingered as everyone, except Aerith, looked at it with suspicion. "You look as though you've never seen a talking cat doll before."

…In all fairness, they hadn't. Sure, they'd taken out giant snakes and monsters, learned about an ancient race, fought an invasive extraterrestrial being, and done lots of other stuff that most ordinary people could only dream of. But this was relatively new, which was both oddly refreshing and surprising to Crimson, given everything up to this point.

"It just keeps gettin' weirder," Cid said, shaking his head as he reached for his cigarettes as the previously inanimate doll walked over to shake hands with Nanaki. The leonine warrior was cautious as he extended a paw in courtesy.

"Cait Sith will be acting as my proxy to assist you. I'm mentally linked with it and through it I can feed you information and remain aware of new developments. It can also assist in battle by utilizing materia," Reeve explained as he pulled out a tablet and pulled up an image of a young girl with red hair next to an older one with longer hair and glasses. "With its help, I'm hoping that you'll be able to accomplish this task somewhat easier and capture Shelke."

"I recognize the older one," Barret said. "She was the one who made my arm. Her name's Shalua, right?"

Reeve nodded. "They're sisters. She was taken by the Turks at the age of nine as a SOLDIER candidate, but never made it according to the official records seven years ago. Her sister has been searching for her since then. Heidegger intends to have her killed when the bomb goes off because of her failure in preventing the information leak, but if we can retrieve her then it may be possible to break her conditioning."

"That's easier said than done," Crimson said, rubbing the back of her neck as she stared at the pair in the picture looking happy at the moment. It wasn't that she was unsympathetic to what she learned just now, the girl was a victim turned into a killing machine by Shinra. Just that he was asking for a lot considering the circumstances. "We'll be operating in enemy territory and she's liable to be difficult to actually deal with quietly. We'd also need some reliable way of keeping her sedated the entire time we're carrying out the operation."

"What about Tranquilizer?" Cloud asked. "You've managed with it before."

Red hair swayed as Crimson shook her head. "She's undergone the SOLDIER enhancements. We'd need SOLDIER-grade sedatives to reliably keep her down…" She trailed off and sighed. "And there's a hidden storage facility located here in Kalm that they set up after  
they rebuilt the town. I'm sure they'll have some stocked there."

They probably changed the password, so they'd have to break in and trip more than one alarm. But they were past the luxury of hiding now. They'd raid the facility for supplies and then destroy everything there they didn't need to prevent Shinra or Heidegger from getting it later on.

Then they'd get going to Junon.

 **[-oOo-]**

Inside of the Junon Headquarters, Reno likewise stared at the report that on display. Not even more than a day as the new head of the Turks and he'd already failed to keep a blunder this big from getting out of hand. It was a setback, but it could be managed after they'd dealt with Heidegger.

In all honesty, the betrayal was a long-time coming when he thought about it. Heidegger never liked the Turks. They didn't answer to him most times, didn't have to because they worked for someone higher, and he'd always been the type to be the one calling the shots if possible. The fact that the new President didn't give him as much freedom of power as the old one did was a powder-keg waiting to blow all this time.

They just didn't see it until it was too late, which was a mistake that would have probably been avoided if they had been aware of the lost city beneath their own headquarters. Reno really wished the old President had let them in on that secret. It wasn't like they hadn't done shady stuff before, but given the fact that the other Turks abandoned their posts because of Nibelheim, it would have likely been one more nail in the coffin.

The News was labeling the ones supposedly responsible for the leak as AVALANCHE, but he didn't buy it fully. Leaving aside how they got their hands on top-secret information, he didn't see Crimson as being so careless to release it in such a manner. She was the cautious-type, even if she was too soft, and would have thought of the fallout that resulted over simply trying to hurt the company by any means possible. There was more to it than that, but for now he had other priorities to handle.

The sound of the door opening pulled his attention from the television, but not his eyes. Listening to the footfalls, he pegged them as being too light to be Rude. "Where have you been for the last hour, Elena?"

"Rooting out the early signs of dissension, sir," Elena said. Her voice was lacking the distinctive enthusiasm that would color it when talking to Tseng, being cold and to the point. "I figured that some of them would try to betray the company and was right. There's a lieutenant called Mutten Kylegate who had been planning on gathering a group together to try and detain the President as a hostage. Now he's in the cell next to Scarlet and he'll be ready to give up his conspirators in due time."

Reno gave her a wary look. Of all the changes since Tseng's assumed death, Heidegger's betrayal, and this information leak, Elena's was really the most surprising. He'd expected her to be crushed by it all, yet she managed to push herself ahead and throw herself into her work.

He couldn't help but wonder if it was just an effort to mask all the cracks that were starting to form beneath the surface and she was on the verge of breaking apart in due time. But there were no words he could offer her to help here. The only one who could reason with her no matter what was the one who had been lost, and along with him her heart.

She paid the look no mind and asked, "What's the next assignment, sir?"

 _Then again, maybe a little heartlessness is what we need right now._ In the wake of dealing with everything they faced, a cold and unmoving heart to endure the trials ahead of them sounded about right. Tseng would probably approve as long as she held it together.

So he would as well. "Okay. After that slaughter of an attempt last time, we need to act with precision rather than brute force. To that end, open warfare isn't ideal. You feel where I'm going with this, right?"

"Assassinating Heidegger," Elena said immediately. "Is there an infiltration plan?"

"Yeah, but it's risky." And much easier said than done in the long-run. Heidegger had the exits in and out of Midgar locked down and the airspace was secure enough that anything flying without authorization was shot down. "Extraction will be difficult as well. You'll probably have to come up with your own method of escaping. Still up for it?"

"That's the job," she said. "I'll move when you tell me to."


	61. Chapter 61

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Enjoy!**

There was a blink as Crimson and the others found themselves abruptly landing on top of a metal walkway, the floor of a corridor. Turning her brown eyes upwards revealed the ocean water, a dark layer illuminated by the lights that ran along the undersea pipe of glass and steel. They'd made it.

Having been there during her service with the Turks, she'd traversed the underwater corridor more than once. So she could personally attest that the sight was more majestic during the day, when you could see light breaking through from the ocean surface. Seeing it night though, it felt a lot more oppressive and nebulous. Not to mention there was no telling if something like another Bottomswell was lurking about.

"Am I the only one bothered by the fact that only a thin layer of glass is keeping us from sleeping with the fishes?" Yuffie asked as she stood in the center, as far away from the glass as she could get.

"I'm pretty sure they took into account how intense the water pressure is before they constructed it," Crimson said, recalling Yuffie's previous exploits involving the ocean and washing up around here. She probably wasn't fond of being this deep underwater after that.

Cait Sith backed up her statement to try and ease the younger girl's concerns. "This reactor in specific was geometrically designed so that the construction helps with the water pressure displacement, and the glass is actually harder when put under pressure. Short of a torpedo or powerful explosive of some kind, this segment alone won't break. And the other parts are designed to be sealed off in the event of a breach."

That didn't seem to have the effect that they were going for, considering how Yuffie still looked unnerved. "I still feel it would have been better if we popped up inside of the reactor, rather than outside in a giant water pipe."

"This was the closest I could get us safely," Aerith said. "Anymore and we could have overshot and ended up in the water, or in the pipeline where the reactor is pulling from the Lifestream. That wouldn't have ended well for any of us."

 _That last jump did feel a lot sloppier near the end,_ the former Turk thought to herself as she looked over to see Aerith winded and holding a hand to her head. This was as far as she could carry them, so it would have to do. She cleared her throat to get the rest of their attention. "We'll split up here and proceed with the mission."

"Are we going up top?" Yuffie asked, doing little to hide hope in her voice at the prospect.

Crimson shook her head. "No, I'll need you, Vincent, and Aerith with me to deal with the bomb and restraining this Shelke Rui person down below. The others will go deal with the Airship and Rosso… though someone should also slip inside to disable the cannon so they can't shoot it down. Ideally without being caught."

Cait Sith jumped up and down with its hand in the air to volunteer. "I'll do it. I have access to the blueprints and my plush body allows me to move around easier. Even if I'm left behind, I have replacement bodies as well."

"Cid, a moment?" Aerith reached into her pocket before they could leave and approached the pilot, who had his polearm slung over his shoulder. She handed over Phoenix's Summoning Materia. "Phoenix would be best in the hands of someone who takes to the skies as much as you."

He took it from her grasp and gave it a look in the light before shelving it in one of his jacket pockets. "You don't push yourself either, you hear?"

"Alright then, let's hurry," Cloud ordered. As Tifa, Nanaki, Cid, Cait Sith, and Barret turned towards the direction of the elevator leading up to the surface and the main base, Crimson found herself feeling uncertain as she watched Cloud prepare to leave. It was a weight, pressing down on her heart.

"Cloud," she called, reaching out for him. Her hand came short and pulled back as he turned. "You and the others be careful. I don't want to lose anyone else to Shinra or Deepground."

Cloud nodded his head once. "Same goes for you." Then he turned around and headed off with the others, their walk turning into a run as they decided to quicken their pace towards the elevator going upwards.

Sighing softly, Crimson took a breath to steel herself before turning to her party and heading off towards the other elevator. Yuffie couldn't get into it soon enough, practically relieved to be away from the sight of the dark depths. Once they were all inside, she pressed the button and they began their descent with the bubbling within the decorative displays resounding within the elevator car.

In the brief moment before they were no doubt onset by enemy forces, Crimson adjusted the materia on her bangle and Rekka while Vincent did the same with his gun. In contrast, Yuffie was guardedly whispering something in Aerith's ear. No guesses as to what that was about, given the slight smile Crimson could spy.

 _At least it was with someone who already knew about how I felt,_ Crimson thought as the elevator came to a stop. She gestured for them to hide against the panels to the side as the door opened, giving the appearance that the car was empty to all those outside, as a safety precaution. However, a peek outside into the walkway over the submarines revealed that no one was around.

Vincent broke cover and stepped onto walkway. The sound of his footfalls against the metal should have been like a beacon to anyone there. But when there was no response, he lowered his gun. "It's clear."

Crimson got a bad feeling and triggered Sense as she filed out with the others. Her eyes took in the details of their seemingly abandoned surroundings, until she spotted a blotch of scarlet on the railing near the entrance to the corridor. She touched it and felt it was still wet, adding to the suspicions nested in her mind. Then she grabbed onto the railing next to it to see that it was the right size for a bloody palm, which only served to confirm her fears that Shelke had already beaten them there.

"I hear something faint from further inside," Vincent said. "Sounds like gunfire, and there's the scent of human fat being burned."

"We need to hurry." Crimson released the railing and ran for the corridor. The others followed her until they came across the monitoring room, just outside the reactor chamber. Bullet casings and scorch marks served as evidence of battle with an intruder, but there was surprisingly little blood from the corpses while the automatons were melted where they were cut.

"There," Vincent said, pointing to the door leading to the reactor chamber as it slid open. A body fell back with a thud and near-silent wheeze. It was a Shinra Troop, a smoldering section of flesh where something hot had cauterized the entry and exit wound. He was still alive, but Crimson gave him less than a minute depending on circumstances.

"There's the bomb!" Yuffie gestured ahead to the point where the walkway met the reactor. A device was planted there, with the Huge Materia inside it. "The timer isn't running. Maybe we can disconnect it now."

Crimson's Sense picked up a shift in the air as the kunoichi made her way towards it. Something was moving fast towards her. "Yuffie, stop!"

"Why—" Her question was cut off as the sound of gunfire rang out. Vincent had opened fire, sending a bullet over Yuffie's shoulder, only to be smashed out of the air by something invisible ahead of her. Yuffie immediately halted in her tracks and jumped backwards, landing on the railing in an alarmed stance with her weapon in front of her, as a Bolt spell launched from Crimson's outstretched hand snaked through the air and hit that very same spot.

Sparks sprayed as tendrils of electricity wormed their way across the invisible figure until something sparked and their opponent blinked into view. It was the same girl from the photo standing before them, only with her eyes burning gold and dressed in a Deepground uniform that had a breastplate and holsters for the weapons in her hands. They were some kind of energy sabers constrained within an electromagnetic field, from what Crimson could peg.

"Perceptive," the red-haired girl said in a voice that lacked emotion.

"Shelke Rui is your name, isn't it?" Crimson said cautiously, carefully judging the situation. The bomb hadn't been set yet. If they could get close enough to take her out with the sedatives, then the mission was over. "You don't want to do this."

"I will carry out my mission," she said, standing between them and the bomb. "Nothing will get in my way."

"That bomb is designed to pull mako from the surroundings and crystallize it," Crimson warned her. "The yield encompasses a great deal of the coast and against someone like you, its instant death. Heidegger's using you as a disposable pawn to kill Rufus."

There was a pause of sorts, and a slight raise of her brows at that. For a moment, Crimson hoped that would stop her. But then her eyes settled in resignation. "…Even so, nothing else matters in my duty as a Deepground Officer. If my death means I will accomplish my mission, then so be it."

"It would make your sister sad to hear that," Aerith said as she stepped from behind Crimson to address the Tsviet directly. "If we have to tell her that you chose to kill yourself and everyone in Junon because Heidegger ordered it, she'll be devastated. Do you want that?"

Those molten-toned eyes turned to the last of the Cetra. "I do not have a sister."

"Her name is Shalua Rui," Aerith continued, using the information that Reeve gave them in an attempt to sway the girl from activating the bomb. "She's your older sister and she's been looking for you for the last seven years after Shinra took you. Even now, she clings to the hope that she can see you again."

"…Has it been seven years since they took me away?" Her tone held a note of emotion in it this time as she slightly lowered the EM sabers, crossed from where the lightning had struck and shorted out her cloaking. "I remember that they said I had potential, back then."

"But it was a lie, right?" Aerith asked. "To Shinra potential is something they can simply use to benefit them. I can't count the number of times I've heard Hojo speak of the potential my birthmother and I had as he made us suffer. It was the same for you, wasn't it?"

"The difference is that you escaped from your captivity, while I did not," Shelke said, her EM sabers going inert to reveal her eyes to be a shade of mako blue. "There was no one to help me escape as they manipulated my mind and tore who I was to shreds in order better serve them. No one to stop them as their scientists left me in a body that remains that of a child."

"And I'm sorry for that," Aerith said. "But we can help you now, if you'll let us. We can take you somewhere they won't be able to harm you further. You'll be able to start a new life, working to regain everything you lost."

"….Even if what you say is true, my body cannot survive without daily mako treatments that they provide." She stepped back towards the bomb, her eyes narrowing in the process. "I have nothing left but Deepground. I will carry out my mission!"

It was clear that the negotiations had broken down, so Vincent opened fire with two rounds as Yuffie leapt in with the shuriken that she'd taken from home and swung for the Tsviet. Before either could hit, a protective casing shrouded her like solidified light. The defense spell shielded her as the bullets were smashed by their impact with the invisible wall and the blades of Yuffie's shuriken scratched at it.

The EM sabers flickered to life again as Shelke swung the sabers for Yuffie once more. Coming in from both a vertical and horizontal direction before the kunoichi could react, after her attack was rebuffed, the only thing that stopped her from losing her head was Aerith's spell-work as the skin-tight wrapping of a barrier intercepted the attack. Even then, Shelke kicked Yuffie hard enough that her back slammed into the railing of the walkway and then cut through the railing to the right and left of her.

The section of railing that Yuffie was on gave out. Vincent moved towards the ledge and grabbed hold of her with his gauntleted hand to save her from helplessly plummeting to her death at the bottom of the reactor. But the opening allowed for Shelke to activate the bomb and the timer flickered to life with the detonation pending five minutes and counting.

Crimson flung her Rekka with the Destruct Materia equipped. The barrier around the Tsviet shattered on contact, but the blade didn't pierce her skin. The former Turk followed up with another Bolt spell, only for the sabers to shield the girl from it. She pulled back her Rekka with the attached wire as Vincent finished pulling Yuffie back up when an alarm rang out.

"What now?" Crimson turned around to see that the near-dead Shinra troop had pulled himself over to the console in the monitoring room and triggered it before all the tension left his body at that moment, causing him to go limp. "Damn it!"

"She's getting away," Yuffie yelled as she got to her feet, pointing to Shelke running off to where the walkway would lead to the submarine dock.

"You two go after her!" Crimson ordered, tossing a sedative and her Destruct Materia to Vincent. "Aerith and I will stay here and try to disarm it!"

Vincent grabbed them both and then nodded before running off after Yuffie, who had already given chase down the walkway after the Tsviet.

"I don't know how much help I'll be in disarming this thing," Aerith said as she followed Crimson to the device and stood over the former Turk. Then the sound of heavy footfalls and lumbering wheels approaching from where they'd just left. She turned to find that some kind of mechanical robot with spiked maces for hands was approaching them, and raised a defensive wall as it launched them at the pair.

"That guard activated the security system," Crimson explained, passing back her Thunder Materia to Aerith. "I need you to protect me until either I'm done or the timer reaches the minute mark and we need the backup plan."

"What backup plan?" Aerith asked as she placed the materia into a slot of her Princess Guard and aimed it at the Guardian robot. The resulting Bolt 2 spell let loose a roar as it smashed into the machine and launched it back through the doorway. The sound of screeching metal followed as it crashed into another oncoming security machine, tongues of electricity worming across their frames.

"You'll teleport it as far out into the sea as you safely can," Crimson said as she pried open the panel and looked at the underlying mechanisms before huffing.

"I can't teleport something like that on its own," Aerith said.

"But if I'm holding it then you can, the same way that we don't come out naked every other time." She looked up briefly to see the look on Aerith's face at the suggestion and then turned her attention back to the bomb. "I know it's not ideal, but we can't let Hojo and Heidegger succeed here."

 **[-oOo-]**

"Get back here!" Yuffie called out, anger lacing her voice as she ran.

Not at the embarrassment of needing to be saved twice from nearly being killed by the girl she was chasing—though that certainly did add to it. No, her anger was because the girl had chosen to doom the people of Junon, including Priscilla. Even when they gave her a chance to walk away from that sort of life, she threw it back in their faces.

The red-haired girl looked over her shoulder for a brief moment as Yuffie cleared the walkway. Then she kicked off the ground to jump back towards her pursuer. Wordlessly, and with a practiced efficiency, Shelke swung the EM sabers around to take off Yuffie's head again in a decapitating strike.

This time, Yuffie was prepared. She fell into a roll, allowing the swing to go over her head before getting to her feet. In retaliation, she lunged and tackled Shelke to the ground while perched on top of her abdomen. Raising her Magic Shuriken up, she brought it down like a guillotine.

The Tsviet managed to curl her knees up and thrust them into Yuffie's unprotected back hard enough to send her rolling forward. Yuffie hit her head on landing, dazing her long enough for Shelke to try and stab her as she was regaining her bearings. That was when a serpentine bolt of lightning struck the red-haired girl with a flash, the impact so close that it stung Yuffie's ears and the scent of ozone filled her nose as it sent the Tsviet crashing into the submarine nearby.

"Don't rush in like that," Vincent said as he approached her, lowering his gauntleted-hand from where tendrils of electricity crackled from his own Thunder Materia. He pulled out his gun and then pulled the trigger, only for the bullet to be blocked as the Tsviet used one of her EM sabers to cut it down.

Yuffie got back into the fight as Vincent leapt out of the way of the incoming slash and then used her Poison Materia to fire a Bio 2 spell. The maleficent, green glob of poison came into existence above Shelke's head and then descended. It should have doused her in the bane-liquid and intoxicated the Tsviet down to her core, but a spherical shell of protection from her Shield Materia protected Shelke as it quickly evaporated while she got to her feet and came for the kunoichi.

Vincent stepped in front of the path and then triggered the Destruct Materia slotted into his gun. Channeling the power of it down the barrel of his gun as he pulled the trigger twice, it rode on the first bullet and shattered the protective sphere around Shelke. The second nailed her square in her chest, stilling her charge. "Now!"

"Got it!" Yuffie used the opening to grab an Ice Materia from her pouch and triggered it with a jolt through her mind, gathering frost into her hand and flinging it at the stunned Tsviet. The ball of condensed cold exploded against the slender frame of the girl, shorting out the EM sabers as she was encompassed in white rime and ice.

It wouldn't hold her for more than a second. That much was evident from how cracks started to form in the ice. So Vincent followed up by delivering a kick straight to her head from the side, breaking the ice entirely while sending her to the dock's floor with a pained cry.

Shelke bounced back to her feet, ignited her EM sabers again, and cut through Yuffie's second attempt at freezing her. The sphere of condensed cold turned into water that splashed against her breastplate, leaving Yuffie to click her tongue in disappointment. Their combined efforts still took its toll on her though, leaving her panting as she held her EM sabers at the ready while Vincent emptied the spent casings from his weapon and then replaced them with fresh bullets.

"You… are… formidable," Shelke said, her breath pained between the pants as she addressed Vincent. "You must be the first to be terminated."

Vincent let loose another Bolt 2 spell at her in response to that, only for Shelke to dart out to the side even faster than she was before. She then bounced off the submarine and came in with a twirling slash that cut at his cape as he barely managed to get out of the way. He took aim with his gun, but she proved faster as she somersaulted backwards, slamming her feet into his chin to stagger him, and then launched herself forward for a vicious stab.

"No!" Yuffie yelled as she watched the orange blade pierce through his body and out the back. A pained grunt left Vincent's mouth as the girl withdrew it and he fell onto his knees, leaving him unable to defend as she readied to take off his head. With a yell of fury, strength and rage surged through Yuffie's body and then sank into her arms and legs as she moved like Greased Lightning and brought her weapon around.

Orange streaks met cold steel as Shelke met the blitz with one of her own, the EM sabers meeting the shuriken. Yuffie twisted her body with all the effort she could muster, sacrificing the shuriken as it melted in contact with the sabers and brought her arm-guard around. It slammed into the red-haired girl's face, knocking her away and to the ground.

Yuffie then activated her Gravity Materia and darkness tinged the wavering air around the Tsviet as the Demi 3 spell did its work, stirring the water around the dock and making the metal of the nearby submarine groan. As the constant pressure of gravity hammered down on the slender girl's body, pinning her down to the ground, Yuffie crouched down to Vincent. "Are you okay?"

 _"Be…hind!"_ Vincent wheezed on his knees, clutching the spot where he'd been impaled through.

Yuffie turned to see that Shelke was fighting to rise against the intensified field of gravity even as the force pressed on her mind, lungs, and organs. With her weapon destroyed, she looked for another and found Vincent's fallen gun. She picked it up and then pulled the trigger at the Tsviet hastily, only for the recoil to be so strong that the gun nearly bucked out of her hands.

"Aghh!" Shelke screamed out in pain as her body collapsed within the gravity field. When it came to an end, she remained on the ground and clutching her stomach as blood slipped through her fingers. It seemed that they finally wore through the durability granted by the mako treatments.

Yuffie took better aim this time and was prepared to pull the trigger again when Vincent's gauntleted-hand set itself on the barrel before she could fire.

"Remember what we were asked to do," he said as he gently pulled it from her grasp. "Killing her now won't serve any purpose."

"But she tried to kill everyone and your injury—"

"I'll heal," he said, forcing himself towards Shelke, one hand on his wound and the other holding the sedative. He plunged the needle into her neck and then pressed down, injecting it into her. The Tsviet went still, and Vincent grunted as he reached down to try and pick her up.

"Let me do it," Yuffie said. There was no point in letting him strain himself further. She picked up the girl less than gently and found she was even lighter than she looked—skin and bones, despite putting up a fight.

That was when they noticed a sound like a muted explosion before the door opened, revealing that Crimson and Aerith were on the way. The former was holding the Huge Materia and the latter turning and releasing a bolt of electricity from her staff before coming through the door and letting it shut. Crimson then fiddled with the control panel and huffed when it locked with a click.

"What happened?" Vincent asked as Aerith noticed his wound.

"We disarmed the bomb but the automated defenses aren't stopping," Aerith explained, panting as she came over and tended to his injury. "It's only a matter of time before they come through."

"We need to get out of here, but Aerith can't teleport us right now after covering me for so long," Crimson added as she looked out over the dock. "Get to the second submarine. We're taking it."

"What about the others?" Yuffie asked.

"We'll get in contact with them after we get out of trouble," Crimson said. "We can't do anything if we're caught here. Now let's go!"


	62. Chapter 62

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Reaper2908: haha**

 **Enjoy!**

Tifa and the others noticed what was wrong the moment they reached the surface of the base, at the runway where the airship was stationed. For one, there was a noticeable lack of guards along the path. For another, the mooring lines tethering it down had already been severed by blades rather than being unhooked. But they couldn't see anyone, and that posed a problem given how their enemies weren't to be trifled with. Were they onboard the ship or hidden out of sight, waiting to spring an ambush?

"Nanaki," Cloud said, hidden behind a stack of barrels and crates with the rest of them. It was subtle, but Tifa felt that there was something different about him since they departed from Kalm. "Can you smell them?"

"Being so close to the reactor makes it hard to discern the them by the scent of mako," Nanaki said, nose raised into the air. "However, I smell blood. It trails to the water."

"So they dumped the bodies," Cloud said, leaning over the edge to peer at the airship. "There's no cover along the path to it, so if they've got snipers they'll be able to line up a shot easier. Any ideas?"

Tifa put her hand to her chin in thought, bringing her bangle into view. The sight of Shiva's Summoning Materia gave her a jolt of inspiration. "I think that I can have Shiva lower the temperature of the area to form a veil of mist."

"Do it," he ordered. "But try to make it not so obvious."

Tifa nodded her head and then spoke to the materia nestled within her bangle. "You hear that, Shiva?" The response was a small chill running through her wrist to confirm, giving Tifa the go ahead. She focused on the materia and manifesting that which lied inside, electing a familiar sensation through her mind that she had grown accustomed to.

Shiva manifested subtly. Not with the roar of a blizzard, but a soft presence like the first flakes of winter snowfall. Floating behind the group while they remained behind cover, she began to weave her power throughout the area and the air grew thicker as mist rolled in like a curtain. The spreading veil was halfway to a satisfactory density when an alarm began to blare from somewhere.

Tifa looked around at that, searching for the source. She half-expected to find troops pouring out of the doors to gun them down. But none were coming out of the exits for them, at least not yet anyway.

"It's coming from below," Nanaki said. "Something must've happened in the reactor."

The mist around the airship began to dissipate and distort with the roar of its engines starting. The propellers whirled to life. It was beginning its ascension into the air and the noise drew attention, leaving them with no option but to act then.

"Aerith can get them out if something goes wrong," Cloud said as he broke cover. "We need to get on the airship now!"

"Shiva, block the doors and windows!" Tifa said to her summoning. Shiva responded not with words, but by expending her power to encase the entire base in a thick bulwark of ice and frost. Every entrance was frozen shut, doors and windows alike, and it would take them minutes to forcibly thaw the ice at the very least.

That would mitigate the threat coming from Rufus' faction barring the main cannon for a while. Cait Sith could handle that… hopefully. She wasn't exactly sure if she could place that much trust in someone who worked at Shinra's highest-level, regardless of what Crimson said.

Maintaining the connection to Shiva as a safety measure, Tifa followed after the others down the runway towards the airship as it began to rise. Silhouettes moved through the mist on the deck of the ship, taking a firing position against the railing. Orange streaks from bullets followed as the Deepground Snipers that were perched there began taking shots through the mist.

Shiva acted on her own accord and conjured ice to intercept the shots, followed by encrusting them and their weapons in ice as well before vanishing after expending her remaining power from the summoning. The ice didn't kill them like it would normal troops; their bodies were durable enough to survive. But it created an opening for them to use.

"Red!" Tifa called as she came to a stop in front of the leonine warrior and extended her hands. The message carried and he jumped towards them. She then wrapped her fingers around his wrists and then hurled him through the air as hard as she could, while Cloud did something similar with Barret and Cid, using the flat of the Buster Sword, getting all three on the deck of the airship to deal with the snipers as they thawed.

"Like in the marsh," Cloud said, cupping his palms and lowering his stance to give her a boost. Tifa nodded in understanding and hopped on, only for him to put more than enough of his enhanced strength into it.

The air roared in Tifa's ears as he launched her airborne, allowing her to easily reach the optimum height. She came to a roll on top of the deck as the others finished knocking the snipers off of the steadily climbing airship and into the ocean waters below, removing them as a threat. She looked over the railing to see that Cloud had jumped up as well and caught the mooring line, climbing up now.

While he finished pulling himself up, Tifa ran over to the entrance of the airship as Barret opened the door, only to close it again as a hail of gunfire began to smash against both the door and the platform on the other side. She took cover against the wall on the outside with the others and then turned to Nanaki. A nod was all the exchange they needed to get the message across and she opened the door.

Nanaki fired the Laser spell. The red beam speared through the entrance and then split into four thinner beams that arced around towards the targets. The gunfire halted as they found their marks and gave Tifa a chance to let loose an Ice 3 into the room.

The moment the spell was unleashed, an explosion of frost and cold swallowed everything beyond the door whole. A glacial gale billowed out of the entrance that forced Tifa and the others to shield their faces until it passed. Breathing out a plume of frost as Cloud finished his climb, they took the imitative to advance inside.

It looked like the inside of a freezer. Everything was covered in ice with the exception of the machinery on the lower floor that thankfully managed to avoid freezing and kept the ship aloft. The four Deepground Troopers were also still alive, with their black suits covered in patches of white rime as frost rolled off their bodies and slowed them. They fought the cold to toss aside their useless firearms and reach for their combat knives.

Cloud leapt off the top of the platform and didn't hesitate to bring down his sword on nearest one before he could draw his blade, the thick metal of the Buster Sword cleaving down diagonally with enough force to break through his opponent's mako-enhancements. As he pulled the blade free, Nanaki let loose a Fire spell toward the one at the base of the stairs to set his foe ablaze, before pouncing down to finish the job while Cloud rushed the third. That left the last for Tifa, Barret, and Cid to deal with.

Tifa hopped down over the edge of the platform railing along with Cid, landing in a roll at the bottom while Barret opened fire with his gun-arm and proceeded to hammer the trooper with bullets. But the trooper moved to avoid the shots and threw his knife at the gunner as hard as possible, forcing Barret to break-off or be impaled as it managed to penetrate the steel next to the door. Cid came swooping in with his weapon in an arc afterwards that forced their opponent back as Tifa came in to deliver an uppercut that caught their assailant from below and sent him airborne. Fire gathered into her palm in the form of a sphere from the materia and was then thrown to meet him mid-flight, erupting into a violent flame that snuffed his scream as it consumed him before he even hit the ground as a smoldering corpse.

"Look out!" Barret abruptly shouted to Tifa.

"Huh?" The warning came a second before the feeling of impending death ran up her spine. She turned towards the source in time to see the barrel of the dual-bladed weapon that belonged to Rosso pointing towards her. She raised her hand and prepared to conjure a Barrier to protect herself, but the Crimson Tsviet pulled the trigger before she could.

 _Klunk!_ The bullet smashed into the thick metal blade that interposed itself between Tifa and the Tsviet. Cloud now stood in front of her, the Cover Materia shining brightly within the slot of the blade. Tifa released a breath she hadn't been aware she had been holding and recomposed herself as the woman spoke.

"I must say, I did not expect to see you here, Darlings," Rosso said with her weapon still raised. She momentarily shifted her gaze towards the fallen, two bodies charred to death and two cleaved by the blood-stained blade that blocked her bullet previously. Her smile didn't waver. "If I had, I would have brought more competent men along. Such is the fate of the weak, do you not think so?"

 _She's not the least bit bothered we killed them,_ Tifa thought. There was no sense of camaraderie between them. Just a 'might makes right' logic she'd come to expect of the worst of Shinra. The weak weren't to be protected, they were to be used and discarded.

"Then again, I did bring one or two who may prove their worth." Rosso snapped her fingers and the doors to the Operation Room and Stables simultaneous burst open violently and scattered ice fragments. From it emerged two more Deepground agents. They were heavily armored compared to the ones they'd dealt with before now, with swords that resembled oversized knives with jagged teeth on the backside. As they tried to flank the group, Rosso opened fire again towards Cid.

Cloud blocked the shot again and then leapt towards her, bringing the Buster Sword down where she stood. The agile woman managed to hop back, leaving the blade to cave into the metal floor. The Crimson Tsviet then somersaulted backwards into the air, firing a third time mid-spin, this time towards Cloud.

It caught Cloud's upper-thigh this time, and the shot carried enough force behind it to make his leg buckle. But it wasn't enough to get past his skin. He glared as she landed on top of the platform leading out to the deck and playfully gestured for him to follow before leaving through the door, and then glanced over his shoulder towards Tifa. "Can you handle these guys?"

"We've got this," Tifa said. "Just make sure she doesn't get away."

Cloud nodded and then leapt, making a great bound that carried him to the top of the platform and out the door. A gunshot rang out not even a moment later, just out of her view, but Tifa paid it no mind as she cracked her knuckles.

The two armored soldiers then began their attack.

 **[-oOo-]**

A battle-cry filled the night air over the whirl of the propellers as Cloud attacked Rosso with all his might. The thick slab of metal in the shape of a blade, the Buster Sword inherited from his predecessor, came crashing down with all the strength he could muster. If she tried to defend against it, she would be cut in two.

Rosso could tell as much with a glance, so she didn't repel or deflect his attack. Instead, she avoided it by pivoting on the ball of her feet and then brought her weapon around as the Buster Sword smashed into the metal surface of the airship that parted underneath its weight and power. Her blades, which had already drawn blood several times, would add another rend to his flesh the moment that they met.

Cloud kept the momentum and pulled the blade around in an arc, ripping a gouge out of the floor in the process as his blade met hers. The Buster Sword won over and knocked her across the surface of the deck until she skidded to a stop several feet away. He kicked off the ground to rush her again with another straightforward assault.

However, Rosso met his charge with one of her own, the point of her dual-blade aimed for his head like a lance meant to pierce through. It forced him to shift his own swing into a parry, resulting in a screeching sound as the edge of her blade slid across his until they were locked together.

"Aren't we spirited today?" Rosso smirked before she brought her free hand around, attempting to rake her clawed gauntlet across his face. She was going for his eyes, intending to blind him.

He pulled his head back just enough to avoid it and then felt a hard blow to his midsection as she thrust her foot into his stomach. It forced him to break away from her weapon, which she brought around with a spin and let loose a blood-tinged crescent wave of her power to toss him across the deck similar to how he'd done before. Cloud grunted as he landed and then rolled to the side as the next shot she fired blew a hole into the deck where his head was.

"I must say—" She fired again. "—it has been some time—" And again. "—since I've had a single opponent last so long!" And again.

She kept shooting as Cloud ran to circle around her, each shot leaving more holes in the deck. Through them he could grasp in passing the battle waged below as well—a scream of pain here, the smell of burning flesh and fabric there. He forced himself to ignore it since he couldn't afford to worry about them right now. If he did, if he was distracted for even a moment, that would be the end of it against someone of her strength.

Going into the mission, he'd thought long and hard about how best to match her after their last encounter outside the Temple of the Ancients. She had more technique and experience than him, refined over years rather than his combination of inherited skills from Zack, lessons from Odin and Kunsel, and his self-taught style. After thinking about it and conversing with Odin, the only solid advantage that he had was his strength—a body capable of matching her durability or surpassing it.

The deciding factor would be which made the first mistake. Would he be overwhelmed by her speed and technique? Or would she slip up and he'd exploit the resulting opening to finish her off with a deathblow from the heavy blade?

A clicking sound reached his ears. Rosso had run out of ammunition, presenting an opening for Cloud to exploit. He changed the direction of his charge to close in on her and swung the Buster Sword around diagonally. She avoided it once more, but this time Cloud took a play out of her book and freed one hand from the sword's hilt to curl into a fist that he slammed into her face.

The blow connected across her cheek. He sent her spiraling to the side and then pressed to take the advantage. But before his blade could connect, Rosso activated her Bloodburst form and the bloody vapor that made up her aura erupted out with enough force to put distance between them.

Cloud immediately activated the Haste spell from the Time Materia that he borrowed from the others, resting in the bangle around his wrist, to counteract her aura of power and enhanced speed. The pale light wrapped as his frame as his personal time quickened for the duration of the spell. It was just in time, as it allowed him to react when Rosso abruptly appeared in front of him in a crimson flicker with her blades scything for his neck.

Their blades clashed with a thunderous force that made the metal deck groan.

 **[-oOo-]**

Water splashed as Tifa fell onto her back into one of the many puddles formed of the Ice and Fire spells that had been unleashed to this point. The pain from where the blade had shattered her skin-tight barrier was enough that she felt certain it would have been a deathblow if she had been hit without it. But she pushed it out of her mind as she forced herself backwards into a roll to escape the sword of the heavily armored solider that sought her out as it scraped against the metal floor.

She got back onto her feet in time to give a one-two punch against his helmeted face, which did nothing to stop him as he swung the edge of the sword around again. Bobbing as the sword passed overhead, she activated the Ice Materia that she had and froze her right fist in a ball of dense ice before she sprung up with all her might into a rising uppercut. The bludgeon of ice backed by her trained muscles managed to send him aerial, even as the ice shattered from the impact.

Tifa then triggered the Fire Materia and flames condensed into a cannonball of fire in the palm of her left hand, which she flung mid-spin at the second one attacking Cid and Nanaki. The resulting explosion of heat and force knocked his impending strike off-mark, allowing Cid to get the upper-hand. He thrust his weapon straight into the man's helmet, knocking it off as the armored soldier twisted his body and swung blindly with his free arm to knock the pilot away before he could strike again. Landing in a crouch, Tifa then cast the Ice 2 spell and encased him in an icy prison of hard-rime.

Nanaki roared and then activated his Limit Break, which wreathed him in a cerulean shroud of power that formed a shell covering him. Then he launched himself towards the entrapped armored soldier like a shooting star. The blow shattered the icy prison and carried the prisoner into the metal wall, where his broken body was embedded as the protective shell faded and Nanaki turned his attention to the surviving one with Cid.

Tifa stiffened as the pain in her abdomen flared for a moment before running over to where Barret laid unconscious with his gun-arm severed at the barrel and a large gash across his chest from where the blade caught him. She reached into her pouch, found a Phoenix Down there, and crushed it over his body. It shattered into reddish motes of light that covered him, sinking into his body and closing the wound.

He snapped awake and sat up, groaning. "What happened?"

"One of them managed to get close to cut you down before I could get a barrier on you, and you tried shielding yourself with your arm," she said as he looked down to it with a glance that held more weight than Tifa could fully grasp before clicking his tongue. "It could have been worse."

He opened his mouth to say something when there was a resounding crash that drew their attention back to the others. Cid had finished off the remaining opponent by impaling him to the wall with his weapon, the light of the Limit Break fading from his body. The corpse lingered there, unmoving and limp. But there was violent shaking coming from up top on the deck, meaning Cloud's battle was still being waged.

"You stay here with the others and get the ship under control," Tifa said, rising to her feet and heading for the stairs. "I'm going to help Cloud!"

She ran up the stairs by threes until she reached the platform and entrance to the deck. The moment she opened the door, a heavy shockwave battered her and made her stagger away from the door. She steadied herself and then looked to the source, a chaotic maelstrom of steel and light as Cloud and Rosso exchanged blows faster than her eyes could fully track.

 _I can't get in the middle of this,_ Tifa thought as their clash continued. Any interference could draw Cloud's attention away from the battle and cost him his life. Not that she could find an opening to exploit in the first place with how closely they were attacking one another.

The bloody vapor seething from Rosso had thinned to being roughly an inch off her skin from the exertion. It was a sign that Cloud was tiring her out, despite having more wounds on him from which blood flowed. If things continued as they were, Tifa was sure he could win…

At least until the pale light covering Cloud faded. His Haste spell had ran out.

Rosso didn't hesitate to take advantage of the opening it presented before he could get it back into place. She swung her blade and unleashed a crimson disk of energy that forced him to block with the Buster Sword, and then appeared behind him in a flicker with her blade coming for his neck.

Cloud twisted his body and swung his heavy sword around in a desperate attempt to try and catch her before she could cut him down. She saw it coming and crouched low, allowing the blade to pass over her head. Then she thrust the point of her blade upwards, backed by her bolstered strength, before he could get the sword around in time to protect himself.

It ran him through. _"Ngghh…!"_

Cloud's face contorted in pain, but he wasn't out of the fight. He grabbed hold of her arm to hold her in place and raised his other with the sword in it to cut her in two. But the Crimson Tsviet stopped him by planting her foot into his chest with a kick, pulling her own blood-stained blade free in the process of knocking him to the ruined floor of the deck. "Agh!"

"It is over now," Rosso said as she took her first step towards him, readying to finish him off. As she did so, she eyed the blood staining her blade lovingly. That was when Tifa's Fire 2 spell hit home and consumed the Tsviet in the scorching flames entirely.

"Don't touch him!" Tifa yelled with the light of the Limit Break flaring around her. She refused to lose someone else to Shinra. So she rushed forward with her fist chambered towards the burning body, intending to break her in two, when Rosso extinguished the flames with a swing of her dual-bladed weapon and unleashed a crimson wave of energy that rushed out to meet Tifa.

She couldn't keep her voice in check as she was overpowered. The wave of pure power hit her like a brick wall, and all excess momentum carried her crashing into the metal railing hard enough that it bent under the force. Strength left her body as she collapsed against it, a hair's breadth from falling off the top of the airship, and her effort to rise left her fumbling to even get her feet under her from the pain.

She barely managed to force her head up to see the Tsviet looming over her now. Her bloody aura was gone, expended in that last attack. Not that she needed it with everyone wounded and Cloud down.

 _I have to take her out now or she'll kill everyone._ Despite knowing that, despite trying to force her body to move and fight, Tifa couldn't before the blood-stained blade came around for her neck. Time seemingly slowed as she saw her death coming, unable to do anything to stop it.

Then Tifa's vision went red as something wet and hot splashed against her face. She blinked to get it out of her eyes, only to see Cloud standing behind Rosso now. She could also see the point of the Buster Sword sticking out of the Tsviet's chest and covered with blood.

Rosso turned her head towards him with seemingly great effort, a look of surprise and disdain on her face. But when she opened her mouth to say something, only blood came out instead.

 _"Now… it's over,"_ Cloud said in a pained breath as he freed his sword with a wet sound by pushing her forward with his other hand, sending her over the railing and towards the dark waters below. Not a second after, the Buster Sword fell from his grasp and he collapsed onto his knees to clutch his stomach, where he'd been impaled.

Tifa tried to get up and check on him, but the pain from the attempt stopped her cold. She settled for asking him, "Is it bad?"

"I'll… _ngh_ … manage until we meet with the others," he said. "Thanks for…coming back for me."

"Anytime."


	63. Chapter 63

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Reaper2908: Thanks.**

 **Enjoy!**

Cait Sith hummed to itself as it tapped at the control panel within the room of the Junon headquarters, accessing the files within it and transferring them. This particular model was designed for infiltration and it had lived up to its purpose well. After shrinking small enough to enter through the ventilation grate, it had put all the operators asleep courtesy of the materias held within its fluffy body to use when needed. From there, disabling the cannon hadn't been much trouble at all.

The window and cameras outside of the building were all frozen over, so it couldn't see what was happening. But as an extension of its owner, Reeve Tuesti, it was aware of what he was. And both sides had just called in to report they'd accomplished their tasks and were heading to the extraction location with their stolen submarine and the airship.

The battering at the door grew louder as the troops outside tried to get it down with a ram. Cait Sith estimated it would be a minute or so before they managed to get through. It finished up its task before making its way back into the ventilation shaft and slipping into again right before they succeeded.

Shinra troops burst in through the door, their weapons raised as they scanned the perimeter to search for any hostiles. As well-hidden as Cait Sith was, it wouldn't be spotted. They considered the room clear after a few more seconds and then checked the pulses of all those it had knocked out. Once they had confirmed they were all alive, they began sending word of what happened through their radios.

Cait Sith then began to crawl throughout the network of shafts. Its soft body made virtually no noise as it did so, allowing it to reach the office where Rufus was stationed. The man was staring at the window in the office, a large sheet of ice that reflected the scowl on his face, when the door to his office opened and a red-haired man in a sharply-dressed suit entered the room.

"What's the extent of the damage?" he asked without turning around.

"All of the employees and guards initially in the Underwater Reactor were killed and the security cameras were systematically taken out before the assault. The reactor wasn't damaged, but we've found the remnants of a device there and one of the submarines has gone missing. It was likely stolen along with the airship. In the water there was also a person wearing a uniform akin to those seen in the footage during the Coup of Midgar. He resisted capture and killed seven troops, but we managed to put him down."

Rufus turned to face Reno. "So this was part of an infiltration attempt by Heidegger then?"

Reno nodded. "I came up with the same conclusion, so I took the initiative to bring a photo of the device to our prisoner. Scarlet has confirmed what the device was supposed to do. It's a weapon of mass destruction designed to pull mako from the surroundings and then crystallize it using a Huge Materia."

"One of the Huge Materia they stole no doubt. Where is it now?"

"It was missing. Taking that into account and considering the bomb was defused, I'm assuming that Cissnei's group was involved as well. That would also explain the ice—keeping us all locked away while they interfered."

"Hmph. So even they managed to get into our base, right under our noses." Rufus expression grew tighter and he balled his fists. "Increase security and make sure this doesn't happen again. I don't know what their intentions were, but I will not suffer this humiliation again."

"Already on it," Reno said. "We'll have the building secured within the hour. However, there's one more matter to discuss. I don't know if it's relevant to this incident, but thirty minutes ago one of the locations we had under observation, after the disturbance from the locals  
and an attempt on the warehouse, was… destroyed."

"Was it Heidegger's doing?"

"I can't confirm that, but it's not just the warehouse. The entire town has been destroyed, set aflame, and there are no signs of life at all to be found. Word will ripple out eventually and the people will likely believe it to be done by our hands."

Rufus stood quiet in thought for a moment before sighing. "We can't afford to send men to check with the losses we sustained to this point. Dealing with the fallout and investigation of that can come after we've dealt with Heidegger. Just have the other locations locked down for now."

"Understood," Reno said, before turning to leave the office.

Within the vent, Cait Sith continued to listen and think. The other doll within Midgar was situated in a position where it could easily pick up on Heidegger barking orders and throwing a fit at his latest failure. But he hadn't made any outright attacks towards civilian targets like that. Something else had to be going on.

The question was what that _something_ was. Hopefully it could listen in a bit longer and get a clue from the files it transferred before they discovered its presence eventually. But for now, it settled in deeper within the ventilation system to avoid immediate detection.

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson's eyes ran over the interior of the airship that her party boarded after the two groups met back up.

She'd heard from the others how the battle had gone, but she just had to see it for herself after looking at the deck and how it had been devastated by the fight that had taken place up there. The charred metal and puddles of water mixed with a tinge of blood from the corpses that had been returned to the Planet gave her enough understanding of how ferocious the battle actually was. It was a miracle that the fighting didn't send the whole airship crashing down to the sea in the process.

The airship shook slightly and only compounded her doubts. But she forced it down. Cid had vouched that the airship was still capable of flight, and since he apparently designed and named it, she was willing to place her trust in that.

After she had seen all that she had to, she still loitered in the room and pretended to keep looking over the machinery. It was a distraction, a way to pass the time without getting in anyone's way after she'd heard all she needed to from them while Cloud was being treated for his injuries, suffered during the fight with Rosso. He'd been pierced by her blade through his stomach and out his back.

In the aftermath, they had used a Restore Materia to stop him from running the risk of bleeding out. But the injury was still deep enough that Aerith needed to tend to the injury personally. Though Crimson hated to ask that of her when she'd already exhausted herself getting them there and then holding the line, she was the only one who could heal an injury that deep adequately. So they were in the Operation Room while she did so, leaving the rest of them to go about their business.

 _Staying here worrying won't do anything,_ she decided after another minute passed. Rather than waiting to hear anything, she started walking towards the entrance to the deck. That would be where the other troublesome passenger was.

 _"Ughhh…"_ Yuffie groaned from a corner of the deck. It was away from the bent railing, on a solid section that allowed her to splay her body freely as she covered her eyes with her arm. It seemed that her motion sickness was back with a vengeance.

Crimson crouched down next to her and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better." She raised her arm enough to see out of one eye. "Shouldn't you be checking on Cloud?"

"He's with Aerith," Crimson said. "He'll be fine. I can trust her with him."

 _"Mm-hmm…"_ Silence lingered as they just sat there, watching the clouds pass in the night air, until Yuffie finally asked, "When did you find out you liked him?"

"A while ago," she admitted. "It took Kunsel calling me out and Aerith talking to me before I could admit. But I've been hesitating to act on it because of things like what happened here and now. I was worried it would affect my judgment, which is unacceptable when we could be killed if we're careless doing what we are now."

"Mmm… yeah, I can kind of see why you'd think that. If you watched someone you liked that way get hurt, you'd just want to make sure the person who did it suffer."

Crimson nodded once. "And then you have to deal with the feeling of losing someone because of a decision you made. It's heavy."

"Well, since you two were hugging, I'm guessing he feels the same and you sorted it all out?" Yuffie asked.

"Yeah… I guess so," Crimson said before the groan of the door hinges caught her ears. She turned towards the entrance to see that Aerith was there. Rising to her feet, she asked, "How is he?"

The last of the Cetra looked tired, though she kept a slight smile on her face as she came over to their side. "Cloud's fine now. I also checked on everyone else, including Shelke, and they're all okay. Cid also mentioned that we'd be near the coordinates that Reeve sent to us within the hour."

"That's a weight off my shoulders. I'll go check on Cloud now then." Crimson turned to Yuffie. "Listen, about what we said here—"

" _Ugh_ …I know… I know." Yuffie waved the former Turk off in a dismissive manner. "Don't blab about it to the others because it might cause problems. I got it."

"That and when we land I'll see about looking for anything that can help with your motion sickness." It'd be cruel to just leave her sick all the time when they were on a boat or on the airship. Leaving those two on the deck, Crimson walked down the stairs and towards to the Operation Room.

Cloud was there, sitting on the edge of the table. "How you holding up?"

"That's what I should be asking you," she said, shutting the door. She made sure to lock it this time too. No more interruptions. "That could have gone so much worse if her blade managed to land higher or Lockhart had been a second slower."

"I had the best chance of taking her on without being killed," Cloud said simply. "Even then it was a tough fight, but we managed to put her down. She can't hurt anyone else."

"I know you made the right call." Crimson sighed, letting her body relax before she approached him. "I knew that it would likely end up that way when we split up the groups. But it was still too close after we just lost Kunsel and that talk we had before."

"I know, Crimson." Cloud straightened up and then set his hands on her shoulders. "I get why you feel that way. That's why I said what I did when I did. So that I wouldn't have any regrets. So, you shouldn't either if it comes to that."

 _"…That doesn't make it any easier,"_ Crimson said softly as she set her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around his back. "But I understand."

"Good." Cloud returned her embrace, pulling her closer to his body. Close enough to where she could hear his heart beating. It was a steadily rising drum.

After what felt like an eternity, Crimson gently pulled herself free of his arms. Her own heart was racing now. She took a moment to compose herself and then asked, "Does this mean we're in a relationship now?"

"I guess?" When Cloud saw her eyes rise at how uncertain he sounded, he raised his arms in advance to pacify her. "I don't have all that much experience with this sort of thing, Crimson. The closest thing I've had to a date was at the Golden Saucer. And that ended up being cut short. Speaking of which—"

Crimson preempted him. "I locked it this time, though I left my phone on in case something happens. Given our luck though, that'll be soon. So we'll have to take advantage of every free minute we get if we're going to make this work."

"Well, everyone's okay now and we'll be at our stop in an hour." He pulled her closer again, treating her as gently as one would glasswork in the process. "So I guess this would count as free time, wouldn't it?"

"I guess so…" Looking into his eyes, she felt a blush forming on her face as heat gathered there with the blood pounding at her ears. It felt strange that Cloud was the one taking the lead here, but she supposed that it was because he had become sure of himself now. So she swallowed her hesitation, closed her eyes, and set her lips against his.

This time, Cloud pressed back into the kiss.

 **[-oOo-]**

 _"Uhhh…"_ On the deck of the airship, Yuffie continued to feel miserable. She rolled around to face Aerith, who was staring at her concerned. "You don't have any magic that would be able to cure this, do you?"

The last of the Cetra was apologetic as she shook her head. "I'm afraid not on the top of my head. And searching through my ancestors' memories for something that vague will take a long time."

"I'll just have to deal with it then," Yuffie said bitterly, turning her eyes towards the entrance to the airship. "You think they're kissing down there?"

"I wouldn't be surprised." Aerith tilted her head in curiosity. "You're not envious, are you?"

"A bit, I guess." She shrugged. "Crimson said we were alike in a lot of ways in Wutai, so I can't help but be when she gets to be with someone she likes."

Aerith's eyes softened in understanding. "You really do like Vincent that much, don't you?"

Yuffie shot up at the surprising statement. She regretted it immediately as it made her motion sickness worse and spent a few seconds vomiting, with Aerith patting her back. Once she'd coughed it all out, she asked. "Did you gain the ability to read minds in that Temple or  
something?"

Aerith took the accusation surprisingly well. "Not at all. I just paid attention to how you've been around him lately and remember what you said about liking the brooding-type in Costa del Sol. It's pretty clear that you care a lot about him. The others probably realize something as well considering you tend to go to an extreme when he's hurt, but I doubt any of them could really understand how to broach the topic so they aren't saying anything."

Yuffie gave her a skeptical look. "And you do?"

She tapped her head in response. "Having access to my ancestors' memories also provides me with many different perspectives and insights. Though it was a different time for them, some things never change. So you can get it off your chest with me and not worry about it."

A low growl left the younger girl's mouth as she mulled the offer over. Then she huffed in surrender. "… I know it probably seems like just a stupid crush, and he's like five times my age, but I can't help but feel something there."

"That's not a bad thing," Aerith said. "If you've someone you feel that strongly for then that's something to be glad for given the toll of everything we do. At the same time, Vincent is a man who feels much sorrow and guilt. I can't say that he'd respond positively to how you feel, even if the circumstances were better."

"Yeah, I figured as much." That was why she hadn't intended on saying anything about it and didn't plan to. This wasn't like what she told Cid and Shera, being honest here would just make thing awkward. If she could help him find peace that would be good enough and that meant getting that stolen Protomateria back.

Aerith set a hand on her shoulder. "As long as you feel that you can handle what comes afterwards, good or bad, follow whatever feeling makes you happy. Whether it's pursuing Vincent or that nice boy in Wutai. You like him too, right?"

"Yuri and I aren't like that. We're—" Again, the words 'Best Friend' came to mind and was met with a warm feeling that distinctly had more depth to it than that when she recalled his handsome face. She shook her head vigorously and quickly changed topics before she could think on it further. "Since you brought up that talk we had in Costa del Sol before, what about you?"

Aerith's smile turned sad. "If we're speaking romantic love, then I'm afraid that my heart still belongs to Zack. My duties as a Cetra will involve having a child to carry on our legacy at some point, but as for having someone who can replace him… I'm not sure if that's possible right now. Maybe in the future I will find someone who can make me feel like how he did, but he'll still hold a place in my heart even then."

And now she felt bad for bringing it up. It looked like she still hadn't completely gotten the hang of thinking before she reacted. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. It's just been a long night."

"You didn't say anything wrong." She turned her eyes towards the night sky. "Back to Vincent, I was thinking on learning more about how the Protomateria got inside of him and about Chaos by trying to find where they located it the first time. There may be something there of use to us."

"That sounds like a good idea." It certainly couldn't hurt, right? "I'll come with you if you do find the place, but first I need to pick up a new weapon from home. All I have is Yuri's dagger after that brat melted my last one, and I don't want to break it like the others considering it's important to him."

Aerith held her hand to her chin in thought for a moment upon hearing that. "…Now that I think about it, I believe Barret was talking to Cid about getting their weapons replaced as well. The fighting is rather hard on our equipment, so I suspect they'll ask Reeve for his help on the matter. Couldn't you ask him as well?"

"I suppose I could, but I'd like something Wutai-made if possible," Yuffie said. Then she recalled the submarine and what was in it. "That reminds me that we found a spare spear down in the submarine we stole, along with a scale of some kind that reminded me of Lord Leviathan for some reason. I figured since Shinra weren't going to use them anymore I'd take them home, but if Cid needs the spear then he can have it."

"I'll bring it up when we land," Aerith said with a slightly wry smile. "He might even overlook the fact that you vomited on his airship for it."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "It's not like he wasn't going to have to replace a good portion of the deck and interior anyway. I just hope we land soon…"


	64. Chapter 64

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Enjoy!**

The roof of the hangar, which was nestled on the surface level of the base that Reeve claimed and reconstructed over the course of these last few months, parted open as he stood at the entrance. The night sky hid the airship well as it closed in, until the lights around the bottom flared to life. From there it hovered over the opening and slowly lowered into the facility.

"She'd better be alright," said the red-haired woman standing next to him, adorned in a lab coat with her hands nestled within the pockets as she looked up through her glasses at the aircraft as it landed. Shalua Rui had been approached to act as a scientist for the organization he was building over the last few months. The base itself formerly belonged to a military unit that had been destroyed by Shinra during his rise to power, during the early years of the SOLDIER project, and all but forgotten once it had been stripped of any value.

Reeve had claimed the land for himself and began to renovate it for the sake of becoming the new headquarters for his organization. Because he needed to keep the operation rather quiet with Shinra and Heidegger being in their current states, he'd avoided expanding upwards and instead worked downward. The bottom had been tunneled out and expanded to contain the various rooms and facilities within the base. It was enough given how small his organization was at present, but if they expanded larger he'd have to consider relocating them somewhere more spacious.

As for Shalua's question, Reeve was frank with her. "While we've confirmed Miss Rui is onboard, and we have a doctor who will do what they can, she will have to remain sedated until we can ensure that she will not be a threat to herself or anyone else."

Shifting her gaze to meet Reeve's eyes, a frown formed on her face. "Shelke is a sweet girl, who loved working with computers and spending time with her family. She would never hurt someone willingly."

Reeve exhaled softly as he shook his head slowly. As much as she clung to the hope of her sister being alive, which panned out in a twisted sort of way, Shalua was also clinging to the past in the hopes that things could go back to how they were before. "The conditioning that she was put through was… thorough. To where she was willing to put the lives of thousands of people at risk, even when told that she would die as well. Hopefully we'll be able to do something about that in time, but she's in a delicate state at the moment."

A wind rolled through the hangar as the airship finished its descent and a boarding ramp descended. Elmyra's daughter then approached while helping the youngest of their number, who was slouched over and holding her mouth, down the ramp. Vincent followed, holding Shalua's sister in his arms.

"She really does look the same as the day they took her," Shalua said in disbelief as she looked at her sister's slender frame. She'd been informed of that much, but only after seeing it herself could she truly register it.

"Get her into the capsule," Reeve ordered the medical team, two of whom had a medical capsule which they could use to transfer the girl and get her into a mako-bath to preserve her life. Then he turned his attention Aerith, who had just finished helping Yuffie walk down the ramp and moving her to the side. "Is she hurt?"

"She suffering from severe motion sickness, unfortunately," Aerith said. "Now that we're on solid ground she should be able to recover soon enough. But she could use something for it in the future, if you have it."

"I'll have them bring medicine for that," he said. "Anyone else injured?"

"The fighting was intense, but I healed everyone as best I could. So physically we're all fine, but I think we're all tired and need to get some sleep."

"There are sleeping quarters on the fourth floor. You can all get some rest there."

"How are things with Heidegger and Rufus at the moment?" Crimson asked next, joining into the conversation with Cloud by her side. "Cid also asked me to check and see if you've got his plane?"

"Heidegger is throwing a tantrum, but he hasn't made any sort of planned actions against Rufus. Rufus' primary focus for the time being is to shore up their defenses to prevent another infiltration attempt. That has bought us some time before they enter open hostilities with one another. We've also retrieved the plane left behind and will have it brought to the facility shortly."

"Good. In that case, we'll take this time to make travelling arrangements to handle other issues and obligations before things start getting chaotic."

"I've given the authorization for you to be provided with whatever you need," Reeve stated as he looked over to see Barret talking with Shalua, while holding up his ruined weapon-arm. She gave him a brief nod before walking off with the medical team as they escorted the capsule into the medical area. "I'll keep you informed of any other developments as well."

"Then we'll head to the fourth floor and get some rest."

 **[-oOo-]**

"Okay, what does everyone plan on doing?" Crimson asked a few minutes later, once they were all in the elevator and heading down to the fourth floor where the living quarters were. "We don't know when this thing with Heidegger will escalate but it's probably a smart idea if everyone makes most of their free time. I know for a fact that I need to return the Keystone to Dio and tell him about Kunsel's death."

"Until my new arm gets made, I'm outta commission," Barret said. "It'll take a bit accordin' to Shalua, so I'm headin' back to Cosmo Canyon to see Marlene."

"I'm going with him as well to have that Huge Materia locked away with the other one. Helping us or not, I'm not letting it be used as a weapon by leaving it here," Tifa said, turning to Nanaki. "What about you, Red?"

The leonine warrior bobbed his head. "I do wish to see Grandfather and my mate."

She supposed that made sense. They had the most ties there, whereas Crimson and Aerith's only ties were the fact that Zack's parents had taken up residence there. That left Cloud, Yuffie, Cid, and Vincent unaccounted for. She turned to them and asked, "What about the rest of you?"

"I'll go with you," Cloud said. "I can use the time to train with Odin, among other things."

"I'll be looking into Omega and Chaos with Crimson's group," Aerith said. "I'll also need to talk to you for a bit tonight, Vincent. I can use the information to search the Lifestream for a clue on where to go."

"Understood," Vincent said plainly.

"Well, Cid's taking me back home so I can get a decent weapon," Yuffie added, looking over her shoulder to him. The pilot was leaning against the back wall with his shoulders slumped, no doubt desiring nothing more than to sleep until he heard his name being brought up.

He straightened up. "When did I agree to that?"

Yuffie sported a grin that was anything but innocent. Good to see she was back to normal. "Well you did promise to fly us wherever we wanted if we got the Tiny Bronco fixed. And I did give you a nice and shiny weapon, along with the fact that I loaned your girlfriend my home."

" _Mmm…_ You're a devious kid, know that?" He sighed in resignation. "Whatever, I should check up on Shera and make sure she hasn't burned the place down or something. But there's no point in going with just the two of us since that'll only be a waste of fuel."

Having gotten what she wanted, Yuffie nodded and then wheeled around towards Crimson and the others. "Dad will probably want to learn about all of this too, and there's few places that happen to be quite romant—"

"Okay then, we'll stop by the Golden Saucer and then back to Wutai." Crimson gave her a slight glare for where she was going with that, before turning to Aerith and giving her a sympathetic look. "We can also stop by to see your mother where she is. You must be worried about her, and it's only fair given that everyone else is seeing the people they care about."

"I… do want to see her," Aerith admitted with some hesitation. "But won't it be out of the way?"

"Nah," Cid said. "The Bronco can't run as fast as the Highwind, but it can make good time. Besides, you gotta learn to do things while you've got the time."

She considered his words and then nodded. "I see. Thank you then."

 **[-oOo-]**

 _Inhale. Hold... Exhale._

Breathing in, holding her breath in her lungs, and then exhaling softly, Aerith concentrated on her descent. It was perhaps an hour after she'd talked to Vincent and relocated to one of the rooms that made up the living quarters. The room wasn't spacious, perhaps only slightly less than a room at the Inn and meant to be shared with one other person, though since the others had roomed together she had the last one to herself.

 _Inhale… Hold... Exhale…_

Sitting on the bed, keeping her body relaxed, she turned her focus inwards in order to project her consciousness into the Planet. The memories of her Ancestors had shown her a more efficient way that simply communing with the Planet and waiting. It was a mediation technique that had been lost with time.

 _Falling… falling… falling…_ she visualized her consciousness falling into the black; a void with only a speck of light in the distance. Sinking beyond the dark, that speck of light in the distance grew longer and brighter, stretching from a mote into a ribbon; a ribbon into a stream of countless flowing streamers.

Exhaling a final time, Aerith found her astral form within the Planet and outside of the Lifestream. It was beautiful, an ever-flowing stream that contained all the knowledge of those that once lived, souls entwined into the spiritual energy of their world. From it life stemmed, and lives that came to an end would return to it.

Holding her hand out, she focused her thoughts on that which she learned from Vincent to search for the memories of Lucrecia Crescent. She recalled the woman he had affectionately described in detail, from the way she wore a ponytail of long-brown hair, bound in a yellow ribbon, to the depths of her honey-brown eyes that sparkled when in the search of knowledge, to the contrasting blue blouse she wore under her white lab-coat and her red heels. Every memory pulled from the current flowing beneath her, narrowing down the knowledge attached to.

From those who'd even heard of her name in passing to those who saw her beauty for themselves. From those who worked alongside of her to those who knew of Chaos. Every memory linked to one another until a single string unwove from the current and settled into the palm of her outstretched hand. Slender fingers coiled around the thread before Aerith cleared her mind and allowed the memories contained within to enter her.

Then she was there. Standing in an underground grotto where luminous crystals bloomed over the ground and pillars formed of the rock, a single one forming a fountain melding both to act as a vessel for Chaos to be born. There she watched as Lucrecia ran forward, eyes spanning her surroundings.

"This is the place you spoke of?" she asked.

"Yes," answered the mouth of the one whose memories she viewed, a man who was older for certain. "Deep within this grotto is where Chaos is destined to awake."

The answer spurred her to run forward, a joyful laugh slipping out of her mouth. "Come on, Doctor Valentine!"

From there they waited until the crystals were stained black, housing Chaos, and then relocated it within the lab. There Doctor Valentine watched over her, noticing her zeal as she poked, prodded, and recorded all the information that she could. She was too eager to prove those who laughed at her thesis wrong, stirring Chaos until it broke free of its container.

Doctor Valentine didn't hesitate to put himself in the way for her and was embedded with Chaos as a result. The dark taint violated his body, corroding it from within until it began to break apart into motes of light, not unlike what Aerith did to Kunsel's body, as Lucrecia begged for him not to die, not to fade away.

 _"Tell my son that… I'm… sorry…"_ were his final words before his body completely faded away and he returned to the Planet. But he held no fear within his heart, and only a single regret that he entrusted her to carry out. Thus he joined the great flow…

"So that was Vincent's father," Aerith said as the memory came to an end and she allowed them to slip through her fingers, returning to the flow that continued on beneath her. It was informational, but she wanted to trace them further to see how Vincent became infused with Chaos while it killed his father. "Now where are Lucrecia's memories?"

She concentrated on bringing them to the front, only for others to answer her, like fellow biotechnologists who had passed. But there was nothing from the woman herself. Her memories weren't there.

"Does that mean she's still alive?" Just as Aerith came to that conclusion, she felt an ominous presence looming over her. She turned around to catch the one person who shouldn't be there with his long sword chambered and ready to swing down. "Sephiro—"

Argent death closed in as he swung his sword around for her head before she could finish speaking. If it connected and her Astral Form was scattered within the Planet, she would never wake again. It was the same as dying.

 **KRRRSH!** And was just as quickly as death closed in, it was repelled with a loud clash of steel-on-steel.

Aerith found herself staring at a familiar and broad back. Her eyes grew hot, stinging as they roamed upwards to find a bed of dark hair. The person then grunted as he pushed away her attacker and stood defensively with a large sword within his grasp, turning his head to the side just a bit to reveal an eye the color of the sky. The tears came out freely and her voice dropped as she called his name. _"Zack…"_

"Go back to your body!" he said in a firm tone before rushing forward to meet Sephiroth's next attack. The sword he possessed, a construct of the Buster Sword forged from his own memories, intercepted the slender blade and then rebuked it. "Now!"

"R…Right…" Snapping out of her surprised stupor, she concentrated on pulling her consciousness back into her body. It was much easier than the reverse and took only a moment before she found herself gasping and slouching over. Taking deep and heavy breaths, she rose to her feet and looked around the room. "Zack?"

Silence was all that answered her. Along and stalwart emptiness that seemed to stretch out with every slowing beat of her heart. It felt solid, like a weight on her shoulders that slumped them down and caused her expression to soften.

 _"I'm here, Aerith."_

"Zack!" She almost started to cry again. It had been so long since she'd seen him that she was afraid that she'd forget his face at some point. That she would forget his smile; forget his voice; everything becoming hazy. But just hearing him was enough to keep the image of him vivid. "It really was you, wasn't it?"

 _"Yeah,"_ he said. _"Don't ask me why though. This isn't quite what I thought death would be like. I'm not exactly here, but not there. It's a bit weird."_

"Were you unable to find peace?" she asked, a hint of worry lacing her voice. "Is that why you aren't part of the Lifestream?"

 _"I get the feeling that, if I wanted to I could. But it felt like I still had to look after everyone, so that's what I've been doing. Not all the time though. I mean, it'd be awkward if I looked in Crimson and Cloud getting closer and all."_ She felt a faint touch on her cheek, a tender caress of sorts. _"But whenever you were in trouble or sad, I'd try to reach out or say something."_

If she didn't concentrate, she probably wouldn't notice. But it was definitely there and definitely him. "You were there with me at the Golden Saucer, weren't you?"

 _"It's difficult just to do this much. But it helps at the right time, doesn't it?"_

"It does," she agreed, only for his touch to fade. Then she recalled the end of that fiasco and her mood sobered. "Zack… about Kunsel…"

 _"It's okay,"_ Zack said. _"I escorted him myself. Same with Luxiere. I made sure they had no regrets. They only did what they thought was best."_

"That's a relief." It didn't take away the sorrow she felt, but it did allow her feel grateful that he got to see Zack a final time. "Now the question is what Sephiroth was doing there."

 _"Not sure about that,"_ he said. _"I think he was doing something like you were. Not physically, but spiritually."_

"But he's not a Cetra," Aerith said. "If anything, he's the opposite."

 _"Well, Cloud threw him over the edge of a reactor with his own sword. The reactors are connected to the Lifestream. There might be a connection there."_

"I see…" She rubbed her forehead. "They never found his body, and he was born of a woman whose body was infused with Jenova's cells. There's no guarantee he could be taken in by the current. If that's the case, he could be in contact with it long enough to learn things like how to find the Temple of the Ancients."

 _"Sound…ood…"_

Alarm ran down Aerith's spine when his voice flickered out for a moment. "Zack?"

 _"Ah… out… time…rry… "_

"Zack!" Silence answered her once more, leaving her wondering if he passed on or if she had lost touch with him somehow. Then she felt the slight pressure of his touch. It served to ease her fears and uncertainty as she laid a hand over her heart. "Right, you're looking over me and want what's best, even when I can't see you…."

Taking that to heart, Aerith drifted off to sleep. She'd wait until morning came to tell the others of what she learned.


	65. Chapter 65

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Enjoy!**

Crimson couldn't help but cringe as the roar of heavy steel smashing against one another had grown even louder. It almost sounded like bombs being dropped in the distance. She backed away to a more comfortable distance and remained focused on maintaining the summoning spell from the sidelines, so that Cloud could go through with his training under Odin unburdened.

They had reached the Golden Saucer midday in the Tiny Bronco, which felt a lot more cramped with everyone in it all at once. Once they had arrived, Crimson returned the Keystone back to Dio and explained the circumstances of Kunsel's death. The normally energetic man was rather heartbroken at his loss, but continued to offer his aid as he had before—including the use of his Buggy again once it was ready the next day.

Tifa decided her group would use the Buggy to get to Cosmo Canyon while Crimson's would use the plane, after the group as a whole visited the cavern where Vincent's father found Chaos. It was located between Corel and Nibelheim, accessible with the use of Aerith's Teleportation once she was rested and it was light out. So everyone had the rest of the evening to enjoy the Golden Saucer how they saw fit, and Crimson chose to spend it helping Cloud train.

 _Not that I can do much aside from keeping Odin grounded,_ she thought. Their exchange had been difficult to track at first. Both Odin and Cloud were faster than the average human inherently. Even if she had Sense active, the data pouring in would feed off either the motion of their arms or posture before they swung.

At this point it was outright impossible at the speeds they were going. Sparks flew multiple times with the span of a second, serving as the only visible proof of their swords colliding. Each impact rattled the air itself with enough force that it would shake the inner workings of the average human body.

The strikes at the beginning were definitely grazing at Cloud's flesh, and would have cut his shirt to ribbons by now if he hadn't taken it off beforehand. But things changed as time went on. Thanks to the honed instinct forged over the hours, Cloud had steadily increased the amount of times that he managed to parry using the Buster Sword and managed to counter the Fell Knight's flurry of swift steel blow-for-blow, until their blades locked together.

The contest of power between the two came to an abrupt end as Odin leapt back from the blade-lock. Cloud gave chase only for Zantetsuken to come around in a horizontal slash that would cleave off his head from his neck. He twisted his body as he lowered his head, avoiding the blade while swinging his own from below in an arc that tore a gouge into the hard-packed soil as it prepared to carve the Fell Knight from hip-to-shoulder.

Yet, the Buster Sword was deflected with a resounding crash as Zantetsuken was brought around and smashed into it. The impact was by far the strongest so far, with Crimson able to feel the shockwave rattling her teeth from where she had repositioned herself. With his arms jerked along with the blade, an opening presented itself in Cloud's guard and Odin capitalized on it by smashing his steel boots into Cloud's chest to knock him off his feet backwards.

 _"Nghhh…"_ Cloud grunted as he tumbled to a stop and then rolled to the side once more as Odin fell from above and used Zantetsuken to cleave the space where he had been in half from the sheer force of the swing. Then he rose up and brought the sword around in a horizontal arch meant to tear the Fell Knight in half.

Odin still managed to intercept it but was forced to brace the blade from the strength behind the swing. It managed to knock him backwards, making him stagger three steps and creating enough space for Cloud to get back to his feet properly and lunge with his sword thrusting forward. The Fell Knight made like he intended to block it, only to pivot on his foot as the blade reached him and then brought the pommel of his sword down on Cloud's wrist.

 **"Agh!"** Cloud ended up dropping the Buster Sword from the impact, but didn't have time to dwell on it as Odin knocked him away with the back of his gauntlet. Crimson winced as he ended up landing flat on his back again several yards away. It looked like it really hurt.

"That will do for today," Odin announced as Cloud got back on his feet, blinking away the stars. The Fell Knight reached down and picked up the Buster Sword to return to him in an act of good faith. "You have progressed well with your blade-work, but you faltered at the end and rose to my baiting too many times. Only commit to such a strike if you are certain you will prevail."

Crimson frowned as she watched Cloud handle the sword sluggishly for a moment. It was likely he'd reached the limit of what he could handle without inflicting serious damage on himself from that level of fighting. Odin could probably tell as well and chose to end things there for that reason.

Cloud didn't contest the decision as he rolled his wrist back and forth. "Right… thanks for the lesson. I'll start again when we get the time."

"Until then," the Summoning said before looking towards the former Turk and inclining his head forward. Crimson took that as cue to cut the connection and ended the spell. Odin faded away, the constant pressure his presence presented on her mind disappearing as a result, and she approached Cloud with a Restore Materia in hand.

"Let me see your wrist." He stuck out his arm at her request and she proceeded to heal it with the materia, before delicately resting her fingers against his cheek to deal with any possible pain there from that last strike. Eyes locked, her touch lingered for a moment after he was healed. Then she pulled back and returned his shirt and Odin's Summoning Materia back to him.

"Thanks for doing this," Cloud said as he covered up his chest that glistened with sweat from the workout. "I wouldn't have been able to go on this long on my own, but I hate that I took up so much of your time."

"It was my choice," Crimson said. "I didn't have much planned for the evening once we got everything sorted out. Not since Reeve is keeping an eye on the situation with Rufus and Heidegger until they make a move on each other. At best I would have just gone around looking at the attractions for a bit to kill time."

"Do you want to look around together then?" he asked. "Everyone else is doing what they want right now, so we can spend time together without being pressured. We may not get another chance once things kick off with Shinra and Deepground and we head to Midgar."

His suggestion stirred a slight flutter in her chest, making her lips draw up into a soft smile. She liked it when he was forward. Then her eyes dropped down to his clothes and she pressed a finger to his chest. "We should probably clean ourselves up before gallivanting around. We wouldn't be able to unwind otherwise."

Cloud looked down to see how his shirt was clinging to his skin. "Point made. See you in an hour?"

"See you then." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then went off ahead of him to get ready. It was a date in all but name, after all.

 **[-oOo-]**

The chill of the frosty air whipped across Cloud's face, a grimace marring it as he steered his snowboard through the maze of giant snowmen and boulder-sized snowballs that rolled back and forth in an attempt to mow him down.

One clipped him along the way, throwing him off-balance and leaving him to nearly careen into the side of the track. But he straightened himself up in time to pass over the finish line. However, it wasn't enough to salvage his score as the display that popped up in front of his eyes showed he only made a total of 50 points out of 100 total.

Disappointed, he opted to quit the game rather than try again. He removed the goggles attached to his face, stepped off the board, and then exited the virtual reality booth that simulated the snowboarding game in the Wonder Square. At this point he and Crimson, who was looking at the monitor that showcased a replay of his run, had checked out most of the attraction of the Golden Saucer.

Along the way they had spotted the others as well. Aerith had been there playing the Mog House game with said Summoning present, but both had left earlier while Crimson was doing her run of the snowboarding game. Tifa was in the Battle Square and had gained something of a fan following as she tore through the ranks, while Nanaki opted to simply watch as she continued her winning streak there. And since Yuffie had managed to convince Vincent to play the shooting coaster ride with her, that left Cid with Barret in the bar to drink for a bit.

"You didn't do too bad for your first run," Crimson told him earnestly. Though, considering she made close to 80 points on her first run, it felt just a little hollow.

"Would've done better if not for those trees," he said in his defense, unneeded as it was. "It's a good thing that this virtual reality system doesn't simulate pain, despite everything else. They use something similar in SOLDIER training, don't they?"

"I think it's a watered-down version of the same system." Crimson looked around at the other game booths that were in the Wonder Square. "Given how wealthy he is, it wouldn't be a stretch to think that Dio purchased some that were customized for entertainment purposes only. Like expensive arcade machines that allow for a more interactive experience."

He supposed that some good could come out of the technology, even when the company itself only used it for combat training. He never had a chance to try snowboarding before and hadn't realized how much of a thrill it was. "If we get the chance, I'd like to give it a go sometime for real."

"I hear the northern continent has vacation spots based around snowboarding and skiing. Maybe we'll get a chance to go there someday?" A playful smile formed on her face. "They'll probably have less trees for you to blame when I win the race to the bottom. Haven't decided what the stakes will be just yet though."

He crossed his arms and put on an amused smirk. "I'm sure you'll think of something by then, but just don't make it something too embarrassing."

Crimson's laughed mirthfully at that. "I was thinking something more romantic, like a dinner date." Then she sighed and wrapped her arm around his, bringing them closer together. "How about we get on the gondola next? They're supposed to do a fireworks display soon and it'll be a nice spot to look at them together."

"Lead the way."

He followed her out to the booth, where they purchased two tickets for a ride together. Crimson took a seat next to him as the door shut and they began to ascend into the air. From above, they could see the Golden Saucer shining with brilliant lights in a dazzling display of its entire splendor.

"This is pretty nice," Crimson said as she looked out the window. "You can tell Dio put a lot of work into it so that people could entertain themselves. There's so much to do and see that it helps you forget about the world outside of it, including your troubles."

Seeing the smile on her face as the lights were reflected in her eyes, Cloud felt a sense of satisfaction and happiness himself. It was a good look on her. "I'm just glad to see you're enjoying it."

She turned towards him at that. "That's probably because you're here with me. It'll make for a good memory in the long run… speaking of which, you've gotten all of them back now, haven't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I shouldn't have any more problems on that front. I owe you for that."

"That's what we originally set out to do from Gongaga, so you don't owe me anything. Besides, most of the credit goes to Aerith—" Her words were drowned out by a cheer as they neared the Chocobo Track, where a race was being carried out. Her eyes quickly fixated on a single rider and she pointed towards them. "Look who's in the lead!"

Cloud did so and spotted the figures atop the Chocobo. It was Aerith and Mog, the former holding on tight as the latter ushered his steed to maintain their lead. Somehow Aerith managed to give them both a slight wave as she passed by the gondola in the blink of an eye. "Does it count as cheating to use a Summoning?"

"At least she's having fun before we have to deal with Jenova and Sephiroth too, after our current issues are resolved." Crimson sighed softly at that, meeting Cloud's eyes as she leaned against his broad shoulder. "I'm really happy we decided to do this while we can."

"Me too," Cloud said as he felt his heart starting to pick up under her gentle gaze and soft touch, the blood steadily pounded at his ears. His eyes traced down from her honey-brown pair to her pillowy lips that were just as close. The memory of how pleasant they were the last time they'd kissed lingered in his mind, leaving him to swallow in anticipation of kissing them again.

Crimson noticed. He could tell that much by how she smiled in a seductive manner, brushed his cheek with her fingers, and leaned her head forward. Then her enticing lips connected with his silently and a euphoric bliss washed over him from it.

The kiss was… sweet and tender, blissful to the point of melting his mind. He was drawn into it utterly, his world itself narrowed down to only that heavenly feeling connecting the two of them…

Then it was over as quickly as it began when Crimson pulled back slowly, breaking the kiss to the sound fireworks blooming outside of their ride. Her cheeks were as red as her name, her breath mingling with his from how close she remained. The normal hue of her eyes was subdued as they reflected the myriad of colors from the flares bursting into bright flowers just outside of the gondola.

 _"Again?"_ she asked with her voice soft and sultry, barely able to be heard by his enhanced hearing. If her intention before had been to enjoy the fireworks then it was all but forgotten now.

Just the same, Cloud was unable to stop the joyous feeling rampaging in his chest. It boiled his blood with a passionate heat that coursed through his body with every pump of his heart. He had to kiss her once more. "Again."

She leaned in again, this time her lips brushing against his with more force. If it was a delicate touch before, it was impassioned now and pleasant feeling from the kiss doubled with her effort. It made time seem to crawl to a stop until the jostling of the gondola signaled their ride had come to an end.

The kiss itself couldn't have been more than thirty seconds. But it felt like both a lifetime and a second at the same time. It was contradictory, twisted by their racing hearts as the fog of passion swirled in their minds while they exited the gondola.

Outside of it, Crimson held her fingers to her lips and traced them silently. Was she surprised by how long the kiss lasted? Or how much effort she pushed into maintaining it?

Cloud couldn't be sure as they left the gondola behind. But whatever it was consumed her as she silently walked ahead of him until they made their way back to the Inn. There was no one there when they arrived in one of the two rooms they shared, four beds in each one. The girls used one room for themselves while the guys used the other room, with Nanaki having a place to sleep by the window.

That was when Crimson finally turned to face him, looking uncharacteristically nervous as she bit on her lower lip lightly. "There's no easy way for me to ask this, but…" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Cloud, do you want to sleep with me?"

…It took him a second to process the question. Not because it was hard to understand, but just the abruptness of it. He had to make sure he heard right. "What?"

"Normally, I would wait until the third date before proposing this," she said continued, refusing to meet his eyes as she reached out and touched his arm. "But given everything we've discussed in regards to how dangerous what we're doing is, and how we may not get another chance, I do think that it's probably best that we take advantage of that time. If you don't want to, then we don't have to right now."

"…It's not that I don't want to," he said after a moment of thought, finding her touch somewhat more distracting given the circumstances.

Crimson was a very beautiful woman. He'd known that from the time he'd seen her in that dress when she was infiltrating Don Corneo's mansion. Seeing her in her swimwear during their time at Costa del Sol only reinforced that fact. But those were before they were in a relationship and his focus was on other things.

Now that things were different, he felt inclined to take her up on the offer. However, he repressed the impulse that rose in him as a man to be honest with her. "I don't really have experience in relationships, so I'm worried I wouldn't meet your expectations."

Her expression softened at that. "No one is that good their first time, and I know just about everything you've gone through to this point. It wouldn't be fair for me to place high expectations on your performance on that front. So don't worry about that."

That put him at ease somewhat. "Are you sure?"

She nodded and brought her other hand up to his chest, looking him in the eyes. There was compassion in her gaze. "I want to make a special memory with you. And I think that it'd be better for you if your first time was with someone who cares about you and would be willing to walk you through it without getting frustrated. But if we're both not comfortable then there's no point to it."

He found her logic to be comforting and considerate. Still, there was one lingering doubt in his mind. He licked his lips as he looked around the room and asked, "We're not doing it here, are we?"

Crimson shook her head and drew back from him. "Not here. It's not very private and the others could come back at any time… not to mention it would be noticeable even after the act. While Aerith and Yuffie know about us, but I don't want to risk the others learning about us just yet—much less that we're that intimate before we deal with Deepground."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"I'll go and rent another room for us to use for the time being. If the Innkeeper asks, I can just claim that we had another person coming and it was too cramped for all of us across two rooms." She crossed her arms and looked up at the clock. "We won't have to rush things that way and we'll be able to clean ourselves up afterwards. Is that okay with you?"

It sounded like a solid plan. And he couldn't deny that he wanted to express how she made him feel in the most intimate way possible. So Cloud gave his consent, devoting himself to her as much as she had done to him, and followed Crimson after the reservation was made.

From there things would take their natural course as the date concluded in a manner that neither would forget…


	66. Chapter 66

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Reaper2908 : lol**

 **Enjoy!**

 **This is now Rated M and sex scene is headed. Be warned.**

Cloud sat on the bed, feeling restless and nervous at the same time. The room he was in now was smaller than the room he shared with the other guys, a modest-sized one with a large bed meant for two. It was away from the others' rooms, so there was little-to-no risk of being found out.

The main lights were off, leaving the room dark. The sole exception was the sliver of illumination coming from beneath the bathroom door. There, if he focused his enhanced hearing in that direction, Cloud could make out the subtle sounds of Crimson's body being undressed beyond his view.

He could hear the delicate sound of thin cloth shuffling as she twisted her hips, sliding down until it settled onto the floor. He could hear her exhalation and soft whispers as she reassured herself that things would be fine and that she had everything ready. He could hear the rustling of cotton as it settled against her frame, and a packet shifting before finding its way into a pocket.

A lump formed in his throat. It was the solidified mass of every doubt he had about the way things would go from here. Saliva pooled in his mouth before he attempted to swallow it, only to fail the first two times as his heart pounded in his chest with a fury that even combat couldn't match in anticipation.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in hopes of calming it down. But no matter how many times he tried, it wouldn't take. There was no way for him to calm down at the mere thought of his position, sitting on a bed with only his boxers on while waiting for her to exit the bathroom.

Footfalls. A hand settling on a door knob and twisting it. Hinges softly groaning as metal grated against metal. He heard them all and opened his eyes to see that Crimson was standing in the doorway of the bathroom.

Her fair skin was hidden behind a white robe with a golden 'GS' emblazed on it. It was tied at her waist, where the fabric overlapped the most. That subsequently left the source of temptation mostly hidden away, while adding the mystique of what was unseen. She came over and sat down on the bed next to him, which drew the hem cutting off just past her knees up to expose more of her legs.

He looked to her face against the male instinct to peer below longer, hoping it would shift further to catch a glimpse of what lay hidden away. There was a blush similar to that when they had kissed before. If he listened closely, he could hear her heart pounding in her chest at a pace matching his the moment he'd seen her.

"Are you ready?" she asked in a gentle tone. He couldn't respond with words. The lump in his throat was still there and refused to budge. So he nodded his head once in agreement. "Then I'll take the lead."

Crimson brought her supple hands to Cloud's head. Her fingers gently brushed his cheek, before sliding to the back of his neck. With a nudge she guided his head forward to meet her own and they shared another kiss—the third one this evening.

The lump in his throat melted as he felt her lips against his. Like the last time, she put effort into the kiss. Unlike the last time, her tongue escaped from the confines of her mouth and entered his to entwine with his own. It felt strange until he grew accustomed to the feeling of the velvet-like brush and warmth teasing his tongue, and then he tried to respond in kind by following her lead.

Crimson exhaled through her nose, like a gentle warm breeze washing against his face. Without breaking the kiss or opening her eyes, her other hand slid along the curve of his arms from the muscles and down until they found his hand. She grabbed his wrist and guided him upwards.

Cloud felt the gentle swell of her breasts through the thickness of the robes as she led his fingers over the surface. He looked down as she did so, tracing the path that she was leading his hand along, and spotted it closing in on the valley where the two ends of the robe met and her skin was exposed. His hand grew tense at the sight and stopped where it was.

Honey-brown eyes opened. The kiss was broken as Crimson pulled her head back, revealing her pink lips to glistening wet. She joined the hand that was around the back of his neck to the other around his hand and braced it in a comforting but firm grip. "Let's get you comfortable touching me like this."

Then she leaned her upper body forward. It brought his hand, nestled within her grip, past the folds of the robe. Just like that his fingers made contact with her breasts, their softness immeasurable. "Can you feel my heart like this?"

"…Yeah," he finally managed to say as the flat of his fingers seem to drink in the warmth of her skin. Every beat of her heart felt vivid, pulsing just beneath the surface. On reflex he moved his fingers down and they froze in place as she let a small, but sweet sound in surprise.

 _"Mmn…"_ She reached her hands down to the where she tied the robe closed and undid it. The sides parted like half-opened curtains, exposing a straight line of her nubile body before pooling at her waist. It was done in just such a way that he could see enough of her breasts and where his hands were, but tantalizingly hid the rest. "There, just try experimenting on moving them around."

He swallowed as he brought his other hand up and slipped his fingers beneath the edge of the robe. Both were pressing against her beautifully-formed breasts. They were well-shaped and full, a rarely known fact because of how she often wore underwear that were snug enough to hide their shape beneath her clothes. He started rolling them beneath his fingers, carefully and slowly.

Crimson lowered her eyes as he did so. Her eyebrows were arched and a small smile was on her face as she watched his fingers move. "Don't be afraid to be a little rougher, Cloud. I'll tell you if you're hurting me."

"Alright." He sank his fingers into her breasts deeper and caressed them around with more force. The swells were malleable as he moved them back and forth, but would spring back into their natural shape if he eased up his grasp. That discovery aroused his interested and gave him more confidence in himself, so he began to play with them vigor and take them both into his hands fully.

 _"Ahhhnn…"_ The slight, charming moan slipped out as his palms ended up brushing against her pink nipples, the points of which he discovered were firm to the touch. Her eyes quivered behind their lids as a small amount of tension threaded her body from the shock. But she took a deep breath and then stuck her chest out so they were firmly against his palm. "Keep going."

He took the invitation and kept going. More and more moans left her mouth as a result, light and soft as a feather that danced on the wind. Her eyes started to glisten as she kept looking down at his hands, while her breathing grew heated as it escaped through her opened mouth.

An urge rose up in Cloud's body as he stared down at the pink points that stood at attention and listened to her voice. Since Crimson seemed to enjoy the feeling of her nipples being teased, why stop with his hands? He shifted his grip so that he could support her breasts from below and then lowered his head towards them under that logic.

"Ah!" Her body went rigid as his lips made contact with a firm tip rest on top of the left swell.

Cloud pulled back, regaining his senses. "Did I go too far?"

Crimson shook her head. "No, I was just surprised." She ran her fingers through her hair to alleviate the tension. "Let's change positions to make it easier."

Moving from the side of the bed to the center, Cloud sat with his back against the headboard. Crimson straddled his waist, positioning herself just above where he felt a growing firmness between his legs that was restrained by his boxers. Then she let the robe slip from her shoulders and down her arms, leaving her upper body bare and on display. "Now go for it."

He brought his mouth closer to her breasts again, only to feel her hands wrapping around the back of his head. Her fingers ran through his blond hair until she had a firm grip at the back of his neck and she slowly guided his head to the left one again to finish what he started. Wrapped in her embrace, he kissed the valley between her breasts once and then leaned his head to the side to bring his lips around the nipple there.

A sweet, faint moan like before left her mouth upon contact, much to the delight of his ears. It registered as the most beautiful sound in the world to Cloud on an instinctive level. His body responded with a passionate heat surging through his blood, from his head to between his legs where it pooled.

While his tongue brushed around the nipple and her body shook at the feeling surging through it, his arm snaked around her waist and held her firmly in place. His other hand followed, reaching for the unattended breast. His fingers curled around it, leaving the swell of it in his palm while he gently showed it affection.

"Good," Crimson said, half-drowned by the moan that followed. Her grip on the back of his neck tightened slightly. "Just like that is good. I like it."

Cloud closed his eyes to concentrate on her breasts. He could feel the swelling pleasure beneath his palm and feel where it took hold, leaving the points to grow engorged in arousal. Then he felt something brushing between his legs and his eyes snapped open in response to the stimulation.

Crimson's head was half-turned to look behind her. Her right hand was reaching backwards and the tips of her fingers traced along the bulge in the thin cloth of his underwear until they found the opening. A moment later, the restrictive feeling that had had plagued him there was gone as his manhood sprung free.

The flushed red color of her cheeks deepened before she turned back towards him and pulled him into a kiss again. Her hand on the back of his neck loosened and the fingers glided around to his shoulder and down the length of his arms, before wrapping around his hand. Like that, she guided it away from her chest, down the bare skin that grew hotter to the touch the further south they went.

He didn't look down as his fingers brushed the spot hidden between her legs. It was hot. And wet. Liquid heat trickled down from the spot, slithering down to the base of his fingers as they lingered there.

 _"Haaahhh."_ Crimson let out a long sigh as he brushed the crevice, running back and forth there slowly. She shuddered in place as a tremor rolled through her body, and then turned her head to the side to reach behind her back again. "This might feel a bit much but I'll stop before you get too excited. Try to focus on your hand."

"Right." Cloud tried to keep his focus away from the sensation that blossomed as her fingers lightly grasped his manhood with a sweet touch and began to stroke it up and down at a glacial pace. He instead fixated on his fingers as they brushed between her legs at the crevice that exuded warmth. Cautiously fighting against the rampant beating of his heart, he petted the spot as his finger grew wetter and explored it.

Crimson let out a silky cry as his finger slipped past the outer lips and into the entrance by accident, where it was the hottest and wettest. Her body reacted with a startled jerk, tightening her grip on him while her insides wrapped him in what felt like a crease-laden blanket of hot flesh, smooth to the touch like wet silk. She trembled for a moment before regaining her senses, and kept moving her hand silently.

Like that they moved their hands for the sake of the other. As Cloud grew more familiar with the layout of her womanhood, he grew bolder. His fingers went from simply moving aimlessly to actively searching which spot elicited the strongest reaction from her. He found it when his finger bent slightly and brushed a certain part of the upper-wall.

"Ahn!" Crimson pulled away with a startled gasp. Her breath was as heavy and hard as the pounding of their hearts. Her hands freed themselves from what they grasped as she lifted her hips up, leaving a wet thread between her womanhood and his fingers, and sat upright on her knees to the side.

"I should put this on you before we go any further and I forget." She fished through the pocket of her robe for a small, square packet. She tore it open and put the condom into place, sheathing him from base-to-tip. "This way you won't have to worry about the timing or any accidents."

Crimson positioned herself between his legs after it was on and brushed the wet strands of hair sticking to her brow backwards. Sweat had formed over their bodies from how hot they had gotten to this point while touching each other. She leaned down with her eyes were fixed on his manhood, which stood at attention, and gripped the base with her hand while bringing her head closer.

Cloud didn't look on further. The thought of seeing her going so far proved to be too much for him. He wasn't sure if his heart could handle it or he'd be able to reconcile the image he'd built up in his head with the sight if he kept looking. So he tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

Then he felt a ring of pleasure slipping around the tip and base at the same time. It was her lips wrapping around the top, moving up and down with her tongue flattened against the underside. And her hands slowly stroked up from the base with a twist, coming to a stop at the halfway point.

It left him breathless as his mind tried to place a mental imagine of the heavenly sensation pouring through his body from between his legs. The lewdest image that he could imagine of Crimson's face came to mind as the pleasure moved up and down at a steady pace. A pulse ran through the rigid shaft, making it quaver and twitch inside her mouth.

Her movements stalled. She waited for it to settle down for what felt like the span of a lifetime without the pleasure it brought, but was less than a minute. Then Crimson continued, her head and fingers moving up and down, meeting one another and then retreating at a slower pace than before.

The motions gradually built up blistering pressure within him as she drew it out, making it last as long as possible. The prickling heat threaded the length of the shaft from both ends. It numbed his mind and took hold of his body.

Cloud's hips moved on their own accord. They thrust up, forcing him deeper into her mouth as her head was moving down. The tip met the back of her throat and she pulled away hurriedly.

"Sorry!" Cloud leaned forward, off the headboard, next to Crimson as she turned her head to cough lightly. He cursed himself for both not being able to control himself and ruining the moment. "You okay?"

She cleared her throat and then turned back to face him. "It's fine. You weren't used to it, so it was surprising that you lasted that long without moving reflexively. But you're near your limit, aren't you?"

"Yeah." It pained him to admit as much since he was enjoying it. But he wouldn't last too much longer at the rate they were going. The prickling heat pooling in his loins weren't settling down.

"Then let's finish up." Her slender fingers placed themselves on his shoulders and guided him into lying down with his back on the mattress. Then she straddled him, leaning up on her knees, while using one hand to hold him steady as she angled herself. Once they were lined up perfectly, she dropped her hips down slowly.

He slid into her and was pressed from all sides. Pleasure cradled the shaft from the heat that bleed through the condom as the walls within the fevered pit spread open for him. He clutched the muscles in his stomach to bear with it before it overwhelmed him and he lost control again, until they were joined together completely.

Crimson panted as she trembled with him inside of her, their bodies connected in the most intimate way. She moved her hips slightly and the shift sent a jolt through Cloud's body from head-to-toe. He jumped inside of her and her upper body seemed to lose the strength to stay upright if she didn't move her hands onto his chest to brace herself.

 _"Let's just take a minute to get used to one another,"_ she said in a faint voice. Her eyes were closed and her head was drooping. _"Then I'll start moving."_

Cloud wasn't exactly in a rush. He felt good just as they were, seeing her skin flushed red and the expression on her face because of him. Yet, as his eyes peered down past her breasts and towards her abdomen, he recalled when she had been shot. He inadvertently reached up and brushed the spot with his fingers, causing her eyes to snap open again. "Does it still hurt?"

"Not really," Crimson said. "Aerith's healing is really something."

That was good. He didn't want to think that doing this for him was causing her pain. He moved his hand up to her cheek and caressed her face as he vowed, "I won't let that happen ever again."

"I know you won't." Her lips stretched into a somewhat tired, yet happy smile. Then she leaned forward to kiss him again. It was more blissful than the kisses before, fueled more by a subdued romance than passion-driven lust. But by the time she pulled away, the trembling stopped and strength returned to Crimson's body as she sat up straight.

"I'll start us off." She moved her hips slightly to test his reaction. It wasn't as knee-jerk as before. Satisfied, she adjusted the position of her knees and set her arms back down on his chest for support. "You can move when you want to, but tell me when you feel like you're about to finish, okay?"

Cloud moved his hands towards the curve of her backside, resting them there. He tensed his body in anticipation and then gave a nod of his head for her to continue. "Ready when you are."

"Here I go then." Looking into his eyes, Crimson started moving slowly. The pressure from her arms increased as she used them for support while her hips worked out a steady rhythm on the upper part of the shaft.

A muffled groaned slipped through Cloud's gritted teeth as the struggle to keep himself in check surfaced with the bobbing of her hips. Up and down she moved and it drove pleasure into him from where they were joined. He immediately felt restless and wanted to move, wanted to pull her body even closer as he thrust into her, but he settled for moving his fingers along her backside instead.

Crimson moaned softly as she shifted the way her hips moved. Instead of going up and down, she instead swayed them in a small circle as she lowered herself. That changed the feeling of pleasure being driven into him into a spiraling ecstasy that was unmatched so far.

Already struggling before with her previous movements, the abrupt change slipped through his guard. Unable to stop the restless feeling that permeated his lower body, Cloud lost control again. "Sorry, but I've got to move now!"

His hands braced her hips into place and he rammed upwards. Since he was already inside fully, the act ended up slamming the tip of his manhood into the back of her womanhood in a single stroke. Like pressing a button that sent an electric shock through her body, Crimson's voice rang out as her body fell backwards until he caught her instinctively to stop her from getting away.

Crimson's mouth moved to say something, but the words didn't come out. They were overtaken by the sweet whimpers leaking out instead under the change of pace. Even the beautiful set of eyes that had been lovingly staring into his were screwed shut the moment he began to move with quick, hard thrusts, leaving her well-shaped breasts to bob madly as he rocked her world.

The liquid heat that had built up in his loins reached a boiling point, sending ripples out throughout his entire body with each thrust, accompanied by a lewd wet sound and the groan of the bed's springs. He felt himself getting ready to reach a tipping point and the insatiable urge as a man guided his hands down to the curve of her backside where they gripped easily, holding her in place in anticipation of what would happen next—a primal act, a burst of pleasure that his mind somehow linked to the blooming of fireworks earlier.

Yet, there was a single moment of lucidity to be found within his mind lost in the fervor of the moment, the surging blend of lust and passion so thick the air itself was tinged with the scent. He tried to put them into words before it was too late. "Crimson, I—"

The words were cut off as he reached the point of no return and his lungs stilled. But the message carried as Crimson grabbed his wrists, forcing them to the mattress as the final thrust was made. At once they both reached their limits as a man and woman, and nature took its course.

…His mind blanked out, lost within a pleasant haze that consumed his body and heart as he felt all the building tension, pressure, and heat in him leave at once. By the time he regained his senses, Crimson was lying next to him while looking at him with tired eyes. He felt the urge to touch her only to notice that his fists were balled tight, with a grip that was likely to have hurt her if she hadn't moved them away at the last moment.

"You're far stronger than the average person, so depending on things like leverage or position, you could end up hurting your partner in the middle of the act," she explained, as though reading his mind. "That's why I needed you to warn me this time. It would have ruined the evening if that happened."

He exhaled loudly, blinking away the sudden lethargy he felt. Even his heart, which had been racing to the extent he thought it would burst from his chest, was slowing to a normal crawl now. Between the training earlier and this now, he was spent. "Sorry about the last part."

"Everyone's first time is like that." Curled next to him, Crimson laid her head on his chest. "They get caught up in the moment once they reach a certain point because it overtakes them. But when you get used to it, you get more control. And because of that you can draw it out and make it more enjoyable."

"That so?" The light feeling of bliss in his mind and body was still there from the release a moment ago, fading slowly. He wasn't opposed to seeing if that could be topped tonight. "I think I can manage again now, if you want?"

A somewhat tired, but mirthful laugh slipped out of her mouth at that. "Not tonight. I don't think I could handle it after you found where I was most sensitive." She sighed before bringing her hand to his and resting it in his palm. "Still, I'm happy that it was a good experience for us both. I won't forget it, no matter what happens now."

That last part sobered him up. Tonight, and maybe the next few days were the calm before the storm. What would happen after that was unknown. He moved his hands, bringing the one that was free over her body to embrace her while his other entwined his fingers with hers.

"Me neither."


	67. Chapter 67

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Enjoy!**

The door shut with a soft click as Crimson left out of the room that she had been intimate with Cloud in. She had cleaned herself up first in the bathroom. Now she was slipping away to return to the room she shared with the other women before anyone suspected anything, while Cloud cleaned himself up to do the same.

Her mind was still somewhat scrambled from the event. And her heart was still racing at the implication she had shown him a side of her that she normally kept in check. But she couldn't say that she regretted it.

Cloud was very important to her. More so than just about everyone she'd known over the last several years. She felt happy with him, grateful too for everything he'd done for her to this point and the change in her life that came about because of him.

Roughly midway to her destination, Crimson found Tifa in the hallway. The martial artist was leaning against the wall and looked pensive with her eyes closed but brows furrowed in thought. Once she heard the footfalls against the floor, she opened her eyes and stood up straight.

"I was waiting for you," she said without a prompt, preemptively answering the unasked question. "I was on my way back a little while ago with Red, searching for Cloud, when he picked up your scents not too far from here. I figured I would have a word with you while he went back."

 _Meaning they know_ , Crimson realized. Even after all the trouble she went through to arrange things, it was undone. She could only sigh. "Well, since you've waited this long, go ahead and ask what you want to."

Tifa did so promptly. "Since when were you and him a thing?"

Crimson straightened herself up and crossed her arms. "If you're referring to how long we've been in a relationship, then it'd be since we were in Kalm last. He's known about how I've felt since we originally split up after Rocket Town though, and this would be our first time being intimate with one another. Does it bother you?"

"Of course it does," she admitted without hesitation or shame. "But it's not out of jealousy or anything like that. Who Cloud chooses to be with is ultimately his decision in the end."

"Then it must be the fact that it's me of all people," Crimson figured. She waited for Tifa to confirm with a nod before continuing. "Even after all we've been through, we still aren't that fond of one another. We can fight and strive for the same goal easily enough, but we still don't mix."

The two women had simply rubbed one another the wrong way since the day they met. One was trained to believe that the Company had everyone's best interests in mind and excused their actions until she could no longer reconcile that belief with her own morals. One lost nearly everything to the Company and did what she could to fight back against them, even if said actions caught others in its wake. Though they fought alongside one another, treated the other as a capable combatant, respecting each other on some level, their differences prevented them from meshing as well as they did with the others.

"Which is why this bugs me so much," Tifa said. "Cloud's the last friend I grew up with who's still alive or not a Sephiroth Clone. Whether or not you were directly involved, even if you regret it, you were still a part of that system and covered it up. Even if I could forgive it, I can't forget it."

"I feel the same way about you and the others who roped him into bombing that reactor," Crimson said. "We've never exactly hidden that fact from one another, so I understand where you're coming from. But let me ask you this: Outside of our personal animosity, do you think it's going to be a problem with us going forward?"

"… Probably not," she said after giving it some thought. "Like it or not, he seems happy around you and I only want what's best for him. So, I don't feel that it'd be my place to say anything there just because I don't really like you. I just wanted to let you know I'm fully aware of it now, so if I think you're making a bad call and Cloud goes along with it, I'm going to assume that's playing a part in it and call you out on it."

"I think I'd prefer it that way to begin with," Crimson admitted. "It's better that we don't mix well together because that means it forces us to think and speak our minds, rather than simply going with the flow. It also means if something happens to one of us, the others will at least have some direction to go in once everything is said and done."

Tifa looked somewhat surprised by the admission. It only showed on her face for a brief moment before she schooled her features and changed the question. "Since you seem to have thought about it, how long do you think until we move?"

"Not long," Crimson said. "Ideally, we'll use that opportunity to slip in and take care of Heidegger and Hojo. Between that and destroying the baths the Deepground soldiers use as well, that'll force them to surrender since they need them to survive for prolonged periods."

"But that'll leave Rufus in charge of everything else," Tifa pointed out. "We don't need to hand him anymore things he can use against us."

"Reeve can use his part in the company to basically gut it to a great extent—if not take over it entirely if Scarlet and Rufus should happen to die in the process. Regardless, whoever gains control over it will have their work cut out for them in trying to salvage the Company's reputation. We'll be focusing on finding where Jenova and Sephiroth are since they're the bigger threats and finish them off for good."

"I guess that will have to do for now," Tifa said. "Either way, I've said what I needed to say. Just don't hurt Cloud after all of this, or else…"

"I won't do something cruel to him for no reason," Crimson assured her in lieu of the hanging threat. No relationship was devoid of problems all of the time, but she had every intention of doing her best with him. "All the same, I'd appreciate it if you could keep quiet about it. Yuffie and Aerith know to an extent, but I'd really prefer it not to get around when we're doing all of this."

"I don't want Cloud to feel pressured over this, so Red and I will keep our mouths shut unless it's necessary."

 **[-oOo-]**

The next morning, the group as a whole set off for the location where Vincent's father and Lucrecia had originally found the Chaos that now dwelled within him through Aerith's magic.

The discussion with Aerith weighed heavily on him along the way, even if he didn't let the others know of it. He knew that something had happened between her and his father, but she never told him to what extent and it had been decades since he'd seen her last. But he thought of her, dreamed of her and the sin that was not stopping Sephiroth from being experimented on and becoming what he was today.

 _Sephiroth…_

So he assumed that was why he heard Lucrecia's voice tickle his mind the moment they stepped into the mouth of the cavern behind the waterfall. At least until Cloud turned to the others and asked if they heard that. There were looks of uncertainty, but also nods.

"That sounded like Lucrecia," he said aloud, albeit reluctantly.

"Then that would explain why I'm sensing the faint presence of Jenova further ahead," Aerith said, clutching her staff. "She's here, alone from the feel of it."

Vincent walked forward at that, leaving the mouth of the cavern to go deeper within. Aerith had admitted she didn't find her in the Lifestream earlier, so Vincent had presumed she was likely still alive. But he didn't plan on finding her again before they had finished dealing with Hojo.

He stopped when he arrived in the chamber of the underground grotto, where crystals had overrun the back part. It was there he found her. She looked the same as he remembered, as if she hadn't aged at all—immortalized and preserved in the crystal. "Lucrecia."

 _Vincent…?_

"Hold on." He moved closer. "We'll get you out of there."

 _No, stay back!_

Her voice was louder, practically screaming in his head. He staggered backwards as his mind was bombarded with memories of the past—of her choice to be with Hojo, of his death at the mad scientist's hands, and of her saving him at the expense of his humanity. When he finally came back to the present, he was on the ground with Yuffie was standing over him while Aerith had a hand set on his head that was slightly aglow.

"What… what happened?" he asked as he sat up.

"She did something to you," Yuffie said, agitation thick in her voice. "You collapsed after whatever she did to you."

 _I'm so sorry, Vincent,_ Lucrecia said. _I didn't want to hurt you… not again. I didn't want to hurt anyone else. That's why I came here. Since the Jenova cells in my body wouldn't let me die, I sealed myself away. But... I thought I felt my child._

"You mean Sephiroth?" Vincent asked cautiously.

 _Yes. It's strange, but… even though I was never his mother, never held him in my arms, and heard that he died five years ago… I've been dreaming of him lately. Then I sensed a presence and thought it was him._

"Most likely she accidentally projected her thoughts into you," Aerith said softly. "I think it's due to the substance of the crystal and the Jenova cells. That's also probably why she mistook Cloud for him, like when Jenova gets too close to him and he senses it."

 _Vincent, please tell me,_ Lucrecia said in a pleading mental voice. _Is my child here? Is he still alive?_

He turned his gaze towards Cloud. The swordsman's fists were balled since he was naturally unhappy to be compared to the man who had caused most of the problems he'd experienced to date. Not to mention what happened with the Sephiroth Clones, which was no doubt another button to be pressed.

Before he opened his mouth to say something, Vincent held his hand out to stop him. It wordlessly carried the message that he would do the talking to her. "That's not him. Sephiroth died five years ago in the line of duty."

 _Then why do I keep dreaming of him? Why do I keep dreaming of him doing horrible things, scheming with Hojo as of late?_

"Jenova has been masquerading as him for the last few months," he lied. It was better that she didn't know the truth. She didn't need to know it, since it wouldn't make her happy. "Most likely, you're seeing what it's doing due to the cells in your body. Once we've destroy it, you shouldn't any more nightmares. But we need your help."

 _Every time I try to help, I only make things worse. I don't want that anymore. Since I can't die to atone for my sins, I just want to dream in peace without hurting anyone._

Vincent couldn't help but recall how he shared those same sentiments about himself for decades. He felt that he could only lock himself away for the sin of letting Hojo turn Sephiroth into the monster that he was today. The others told him that wouldn't resolve anything and so he sought to at least kill Hojo and atone for it.

Lucrecia had always been stubborn when it came to defending her ideals, even when her thesis was mocked, and pushed forward with the project for that reason. If she wouldn't budge now, then he wouldn't try to force her. But, if she could do something, that would at least give her a chance to feel relieved and take a weight off her shoulders.

"Lucrecia," he said softly. "Hojo stole the Protomateria that you placed inside of me. He intends to use it to awaken Omega prematurely."

 _No._ Sincere fear crept into her mental voice. _That's necessary to stabilize Chaos after I put it inside of you. If he's taken it then, you'll…_

"We need your knowledge of Chaos and Omega, so that we can get it back and stop him and Jenova," Vincent continued. "Help me so that I can stop them from bringing this world to an end. Whatever you can tell us will be enough."

There was a haunting silence afterwards for a long and pregnant pause. Then the sound of crystals splintering reached his ears. They bubbled up from the ground, growing, stretching, and shaping themselves in an unnatural way. When it stopped, there was a pair of notebooks and a weapon that looked like a revolver merged with a hand-cannon, forming a cross design for the barrels.

 _This is all I can do for you now. The notebooks contain the information I knew on Chaos and Omega. And this weapon is the only thing I can give you if you choose to go after him._

"This is more than enough," he said, picking them up. Then he looked up to Lucrecia's face behind the crystal and found himself feeling a profound sense of somberness as he said, "I'll make it so that you can rest easy from now on."

 _I'm so sorry to keep burdening you like this,_ was all she said to that.

It was only on the way out, when they weren't likely to be overheard, that Tifa asked, "Aerith, out of curiosity, would you have been able to free her from inside of that? It looked like the sort of crystal you'd find in a natural mako spring."

"If things were different, I probably could," Aerith said. "However, she doesn't want to be freed and she'd fight me on it. I don't that would do her mental state much good, especially when we're hunting down her husband and child."

"That's a shame since her expertise would be useful," Crimson said, looking through the notebooks quickly. "But you're right. There's no point in freeing her from the prison she chose to put herself into while we're dealing with more active threats. She has to want the situation to change, but I don't think anyone outside of Vincent would be qualified to help her in that aspect."

"I'll visit her again once everything is over and try to help her," he said, holding the gun up to the light. No matter how long it took, he would see her happy again.

But first he had to put down Hojo and Jenova, the two responsible for the tragedy that was their lives.

 **[-oOo-]**

Hojo continued to type calculation into the mainframe while locked into his laboratory. The plan to deal with Rufus had fallen through, meaning that Heidegger was now scrambling to prepare for an assault force. Of course, that was only after he'd let his displeasure being known by resorting to violence against him. The brute had used his meaty fist to strike him in the face multiple times, all while yelling in rage.

Not that it mattered. Heidegger wouldn't kill him. Not while he was backed into a corner.

His initial plan had been to kill Rufus and assume control of Shinra as a whole, grabbing their entire military. However, since Rufus had survived both attempts at his life, his coup resulted in being forced to take over Midgar by force. The standard military outnumbered Deepground, even if they were of lower quality, and every resource outside of Midgar was much harder to access as a result.

While Midgar was one of the most populated cities in the world, it was landlocked and surrounded by barren soil that could grow nothing. Their self-sufficiency was next to nothing when it came to food and agriculture. Rufus knew that as well, so he used his numbers to cut off the supply routes and chains.

The average person could go two weeks without food and three days without water. But they grew weaker and helpless over time, and death by starvation was long and drawn out. Heidegger had already gone through with confiscating as much supplies as he could from the civilians to keep his Deepground forces fed, leaving them angry, suffering, miserable, and terrified, but even that would barely last another two weeks.

He had to make a move soon, but he needed to ensure that the assault was successful and Rufus died once and for all. He would commit to it, and the conflict would be a part of the bloody key needed to start the program that was Omega and Chaos. The other part would come from the sacrifices being prepared above.

That just left himself. Hojo held no illusion that all life would be obliterated, returned to the Planet and then gathered up by Omega to be launched into space. Perhaps he had been too hasty to dismiss Lucrecia's theories initially after she bore his child, but now he could see the validity of it clearly. The only problem is that those native to the world wouldn't likely be able to maintain their consciousness within the Lifestream, leaving him with no way of perusing that wellspring of knowledge.

At least, not without the inclusion of Jenova cells into his body. He wasn't a physically viable candidate by far, a failing of the flesh that showed nature's imperfection. However, he had studied the implantation process and been responsible for doing so with Lucrecia. Between that and the process undergone in Deepground, he had enough material to work out how it could be implemented successfully.

Mind you, it was not without fault. Even now he could feel it working its way through his systems, invading and connecting him to the whole body of Jenova that remained intact. The process would be excruciating if he hadn't rigged the device that stopped his involuntary spasms to turn off his pain receptors. But as long as it allowed his consciousness to retain its sense of self even after his body stopped functioning, it would be enough.

His mind would persist even with the end of the world. It would not only survive, but allow him to merge with Omega when the time came as a part of Jenova. All the knowledge contained within this world would be his, and he would sail the stars to seek out other worlds and their knowledge.

Yes, he could think of nothing else that was more fitting for a man of science than to grasp the secrets of the cosmos as a whole…


	68. Chapter 68

**Another chapter is here!**

 **azuresky0 : Thank you!**

 **Seta88 : Thanks!**

 **Enjoy!**

"What does he see in her?" Yuffie asked aloud as she held the origami crane that was her new weapon between her fingers, readying to throw it towards a prepared target attached to a tree near the base of the mountain. She had found it exploring the cavern at the top of the mountain with Lord Leviathan's advice, in response to her need for a new weapon, and was sure that it was magic at this point.

It had to be, given the cavern was filled eternal flames that burned so hot that they couldn't be quenched through normal means. Ordinary paper would have been ashes from proximity, but it was fine once they used Lord Leviathan's scale to call the power of the sea at its behest and snuff the flames. So naturally she needed to test it out, but Cid had commandeered her home to talk with Shera.

"I cannot say for certain that I fully understand his thoughts on the matter, but perhaps his loyalty is to be admired?" Yuri offered in response from his perch against the tree behind her. In his hands was a notebook that he was scribbling into diligently as he translated the ancient scripts that Yuffie's father had given her during her last visit.

It wasn't that she hadn't been attempting to decipher it, but she had been fairly busy all things considered. And Yuri actually did know the ancient writing since that was the sort of thing a good student like him practiced. So really it was for his own good as well as hers, or so she rationalized upon being reminded by her father that it was essential and asking Yuri while Aerith saw to his mother—who was more active now than before.

"But I still don't get it!" She chambered her arm and then flung it forward. The moment it left her grasp, the origami crane began to spin rapidly and then cut clean through the target. And then the tree behind it, and another two along its return path as it circled around. "She's literally the cause of all of our problems right now, Yuri!"

Yuri raised a brow as he watched the trees begin to collapse, bark splintering under their own weight before crashing down with a series of loud thuds. "Yuffie, forgive me for asking, but are you sure you're not just pinning unjust blame upon her?"

Yuffie petulantly huffed as she held her hand out and the origami crane found its way back into her grasp without much effort on her part or a papercut. It was definitely magic. "She let that quack get away with shooting Vincent when he tried to stand up to him for her sake, and let him take her child from her to experiment on. Who does that to people she claims she cares about?"

"Not everyone can be a strong as you are," Yuri said. "We all make mistakes, but not everyone can fix them on their own. Sometimes we fall into despair and can only wait for someone else to guide us. That's what separates us from people like you, who born to be leaders."

"But she didn't even try!" Yuffie sat next to him. "Vincent suffered so much because of her. He died and was brought back because he tried to save her, and yet all she does is sleep in a crystal while he has to keep pushing himself for her sake. I hate seeing him go through so much for someone like that."

Yuri looked forlornly at her face and then closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "When you love someone, you do what you can to make them happy. Even if that means doing something that's a burden on you, because seeing them happy makes you happy—even if its unreturned."

She caught the underlying tone in his voice and recall what Aerith had told her before. Realization dawned on and she couldn't help but feel like a fool. "Yuri, is there something you want to tell me before I leave?"

His eyes snapped open at that. "Huh?"

"I mean, do you feel that way about me?" She rubbed the back of her head, feeling her embarrassment blossom in her cheeks at asking him. "I've always thought of you as my best friend, but is that how you feel about me?"

"Well, I…" he trailed off, looking away from her eyes nervously.

"Be honest with me, Yuri," she demanded.

His lungs went still as he froze on the spot under her gaze. Time seemed to drag on before he breathed again and confessed. "I see you as someone to be greatly admired. Even as children you were always so adventurous and unrestrained. When you found something you believed in, you constantly strived towards it, even if it put you in danger."

"Well, yeah. That's what you're supposed to do if you find something you believe in," she said. "But that causes problems too sometimes. Dad gave me an earful on that last time."

"Even so, I think that's amazing." He set the notebook down and looked up to the sky. "That will and passion behind everything you do is what reached out to Lord Leviathan, helped you defeat the Omni, and helped my mother. You shine so brightly it's like the radiance of the sun, and I want…"

 _To be next to you,_ went unsaid but she picked up on it easily enough. If he saw her as the sun then he couldn't stay next to her because he would be burned, which fit considering that if he tried to stick with her now he'd definitely die given what she was involved with. She'd feel… terrible if that happened.

No different than how Lucrecia no doubt felt when it came to Vincent.

 _"Agghh…"_ She whined as she held her head in frustration. "Why'd you have to go and make me understand her?"

"I'm sorry," he said, even though the small smile on his face showed otherwise. "But isn't it good that you can understand someone else a little better now? If you plan to lead Wutai someday and succeed your father, you need to be able to relate to others."

"I guess…" Even if she could understand Lucrecia a little better now, it still didn't change the fact that she thought the woman was weak.

"Then that's good enough for me," Yuri said, going back to working on the notebook and translation. "I can't walk besides you, but as long as I can be of some use to you, then that's fine."

"I'll hold you to that when I come back," Yuffie said, leaning against him slightly. "Dad was whining about me not knowing much of our culture beyond the martial aspects, but you're good at the other stuff. I'll need someone I can trust by me when I run the place to make sure that the cultural aspects are intact."

 **[-oOo-]**

Tifa set the second Huge Materia down next to the first one within what was once the Gi Cave. The ancient spirits had been laid to rest now and only a handful of people knew how to access it, so it would be safest there. Once it was secure, she made her way to the exit and back to where the other members of AVALANCHE called their home, peering through the window.

Inside, she found Barret sitting down at the table and listening as Marlene told him about everything that she had been up to while they had been away. His gun-arm was still missing and had been replaced with a wooden replica for the time-being—the new one would be done soon. For the first time in a long time he looked happy, no longer having a weight on his shoulders brought by the constant fighting.

Jessie and Biggs were off in a corner, with the former sitting in the latter's lap. They were obviously in love at this point. But she couldn't help but wonder where was Wedge until the sound of a strained voice drew her attention to the backside of the home.

There she found him, tinkering with what looked to be a generator of some kind next to a wheelbarrow. As she rounded the corner, he noticed her footfalls and rose to his feet. "You're back from wherever you went?"

"Yeah." She took a good look at him. He'd slimmed down somewhat since his arrival, probably due to the change in the diet. The food in Cosmo Canyon was healthier than Midgar and, from the sound of it, he had been moving around more. "Why are you out here alone?"

"Since Barret's back to watch Marlene for now, I figured I would work on this windmill generator that a monster got its talons into," he said, wiping his hands on the overalls that he was wearing. "Be of some help in keeping things running when we're not out dealing with monsters, and saving up so I can afford a place of my own."

"Are their problems between you and the others?" she asked. Their home was big enough to fit them all, so she didn't see the immediate need to split up.

"Not… really," he said, albeit with some hesitation. "There's just not going to be a place for me soon enough. I think Biggs is planning on having his sister come over to Cosmo Canyon now. You know she was living on her own after we got the blame for fall of the plate, but after that broadcast went out they started talking again."

"I thought outside communication with Midgar had been cut?"

"She managed to get out before everything went crazy there," he said. "She's over in Kalm right now. She's about as stubborn as he is and wants to take the fight to Shinra, but now he wants to talk her down."

"If we had known, we would have brought her along. But at least they're back on speaking terms." It was something of a relief in the grand scheme of things. Hojo may have leaked that information specifically to sow further chaos, but it gave them some measure of absolution from the blame of the Plate Fall. "And what about Jessie?"

"She doesn't have her moments as often as before either, but I think it's because they keep each other happy." He smiled in a wry manner. "Wouldn't surprise me if they had a kid on the way sometime soon."

"That's great," Tifa said. "I'm happy for them. But how have you been coping with everything?"

He sucked in a sharp breath before turning away from her and down to the generator. "…Every now and then I think of my little makes me feel like I shouldn't be here trying to settle down, but should be getting out there while we've still got some positive reputation from all of this. Like I should be going for Rufus and Heidegger while the world is out for their blood."

"Wedge, that won't help," she warned him. "Shinra needs to be stopped, but we can't be careless in how we stop them or it's the innocent people that will get hurt. Besides, you're better with fixing things with your hands than holding a weapon."

"Yeah, I hear you. But it still feels like I should be doing something more to help the cause than just watching Marlene while Barret goes to fight." He crouched down over the generator and then loaded it up into the wheelbarrow. "Anyway, I'm going to go take this to the guys installing it. Catch you later."

She watched him cart it off through the back streets while considering his words. The loss of his brother still stung him, as the loss of her family and friends stung her. But they couldn't just go headstrong into confronting them anymore. Every time they'd done so, it had caused other problems in the long-run. Instead, what they needed to do was find some way to make it so things like that didn't happen anymore.

 _But how?_ She couldn't help but wonder as she made her way back to the front. The answer eluded her until she spotted Nanaki in the distance, sitting in front of the Cosmo Candle and watching the embers rise to the sky. She could make out his somber expression even at the distance, a far cry from when he had first arrived and went to see his grandfather-figure.

Looking back at the others still sharing a story through the window, Tifa figured she had time to see what was bothering him. She made her way over to the Cosmo Candle and sat next to him in front of the fire, asking, "What's wrong, Red?"

"Grandfather has become bedridden," he said.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"He is resting for now, but his age has caught up to him." Using his paw, he gestured to a trinket of some kind. "He knows that the Planet will call for him soon, so he bequeathed me with a relic of my father's."

"I'm sorry to hear that." There was nothing that she could really do but give him her condolences. "He seemed so lively when we last met."

"Such were my thoughts as well," he admitted. "It was fortunate enough that I was able to see him again before now and make amends with the spirit of my father. Those were his only regrets it seems, so he will go peacefully."

"What will happen when he passes?" The man was knowledgeable on many aspects of spirit energy and the nature of the Lifestream. His death would mean that the knowledge would be lost if not passed on properly.

"Hargo will take his place, being the second-wisest of the elders," Nanaki explained. "It will be hard on many, given how he had taught us much and influenced our lives in so many ways. However, I understood that the day would come eventually. Even if not for his advanced age, my kind lives for an exceedingly long time, so I must accept that someday those I know will also perish before me."

"That also means you'll be around to see their descendants flourish and tell them about us after we're gone," she said, providing a silver-lining for him. "Everything we've learned won't die with us as long as someone is there to pass along that wisdom, to stop people from abusing the Planet and repeating the mistakes of letting a company like Shinra gain as much power as it did."

"I suppose so," he agreed. "It would be foolish of me to not honor the fallen by seeing to it that the peace they fought for did not last because of ignorance."

Tifa was a fighter. That was how she fashioned herself after the loss of her home. But once the fighting was over, she would have to become something else.

At the same time, even if they took down Shinra and Sephiroth, there was nothing to stop it from happening again sometime in the future unless they took measures. People couldn't just see Mako energy as their solution any longer. They had to see the damage it did to the Planet over the time.

The knowledge that Cosmo Canyon was famed for needed to be passed on to the next generation. That would hopefully sow the seed for them to learn from their mistake. That way it wouldn't get to this point again in the future, where people like her needed to fight.

 **[-oOo-]**

"You've nearly been all over the world at this point, haven't you?" Elmyra asked her daughter as they sat across from one another on the wooden porch of the home that Reeve had arranged for her to live in at Mideel. Aerith had come by and told her about many of the places she'd visited and people she had met. However, having raised her for so long, she could tell her daughter was shying away from serious topics for the most part, in an effort to avoid bringing down the mood.

"It's a shame that I haven't had time to enjoy the sights very much, but I think we've visited every region but the north," Aerith said, looking out towards the luscious greenery that surrounded them. "Even so, this is a rather beautiful place you've been staying."

"It is, if warmer than I'm used to." Under normal circumstances she would have loved it. But it was still tainted by her association with Reeve and the deception that he'd put her through in an effort to get to her daughter. That was still bothering her even now, despite having gotten to know Denzel and Ruvie. "I still miss our home though. Even if it wasn't as gorgeous as this place, it still had so many fond memories."

A slightly nostalgic smile blossomed on Aerith's face. "It did, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did…" Her mood turned sour as she considered the timing of the visit and the events at Midgar. They had managed to keep up with the developments that were publicly being made, and she knew the signs of a war beginning to boil over. "You're heading back there soon, aren't you?"

"…Yes," Aerith said softly. "It looks like both sides are starting to mobilize, so I'll have to leave soon."

The thought actually made Elmyra's hands tremble and her lips purse, considering she lost her husband in that meaningless war driven forward by Shinra. The last thing she wanted was Aerith to be near a battlefield. But there was nothing she could do to stop her at this point, and she knew it. That was the terrible thing about having someone destined for great things as a child—you couldn't shelter them from the danger that it would bring.

Aerith gently overlaid her hands with Elmyra's, a comforting touch meant to ease the fear welling up in her heart. "We won't be in the middle of the battle itself. We're just going to slip into Deepground using their reactor as a beacon while the majority of the troops are away. If nothing goes wrong, we'll be able to settle things quickly and fewer lives will be lost."

"… Just come back to me," Elmyra pleaded. She didn't want to lose her daughter the same way she lost her husband. "That's all I ask. I don't care about anything else."

"I will, Mother." Aerith then moved in for a hug slowly.

Elmyra embraced her tightly in turn and didn't want to let go either.

 **[-oOo-]**

Deep beneath the caverns of Midgar and Deepground, a slumbering champion laid.

An ethereal voice whispered softly, resonating with his desires as he dreamed.

A single black wing twitched in response, heeding the Goddess' words.

The appointed time was coming, thus Genesis stirred.


	69. Chapter 69

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Seta88: Yeah. Let the man make his appearance soon.**

 **The Green Man: Yes it will.**

 **Enjoy!**

Crimson felt nauseous as her body abruptly regained form and weight, her legs nearly giving out as she struggled to stop the world from tilting. The war had begun between Heidegger and Rufus as they deployed their forces to the eastern and northern shores to storm the beaches. That was where the majority of the battles were taking place, with Kalm under the protection of whatever forces Reeve could supply while they handled the infiltration.

Ultimately, Heidegger was the greater threat at the moment so they would neutralize him once and for all by taking him, Hojo, and their base of operations out of the picture here and now. However, there were still troops lining the perimeter of the city and they couldn't afford to be spotted so soon. So they relied on Aerith again to get them inside like she did in the Underwater Reactor, only through the gap in the ring of reactors around the city created by the reactor Cloud and the others blew up. It hadn't been repaired since then, so it _should_ have been the perfect entrance.

 _"Ugh…"_ She took a step back only for her foot to hit the ledge of what turned out to be the train platform and nearly sent her over the edge. A powerful set of hands, Cloud's hands, grabbed her before she could.

"You okay?" he asked, pulling her closer to him and away from the ledge.

"Just a bit dizzy." She gently freed herself from his protective grasp at the sound of Yuffie vomiting. Looking at the group as a whole, they were all disoriented to some extent and struggling to regain their bearings as well. "Aerith, what happened? Weren't we supposed to slip into Deepground?"

"I'm sorry everyone. I think that they increased the amount of mako that they pull from the surroundings to compensate for the output decreasing, and that increased the flow?" Aerith guessed while clutching her Princess Guard tightly as it supported the majority of her weight. "It took everything I had to avoid us being pulled apart, and there's… something in the reactor below us."

"We'll just have to make due from here then," Crimson told her as she crouched down and opened the bag she had slung over her shoulder, containing her Rekka among their other supplies. She tossed Yuffie the nausea medicine she had for motion sickness, since the disorientation hit her the hardest, and then passed the earpieces that Reeve had given her to everyone else.

 _"Connection has been established,"_ said an almost robotic voice on the other end once everyone slipped them onto their ears. It was Shelke's voice.

The nausea that plagued Yuffie was banished by fury faster than any medicine could do as she jumped up and shouted into her earpiece, "I thought they locked you up!?"

 _"Mister Tuesti and my sister convinced me that it would be in my best interest to align myself with you in your endeavor to bring down Heidegger. My ability to utilize an SND allows me to monitor your position and access the various systems within Midgar to an extent remotely. Therefore, I will be acting as your support in infiltrating Deepground and apprehending or terminating the priority targets."_

"How can we trust you after what you did in Junon?" Yuffie demanded. It was a fair question, all things considered. They had offered her an olive branch before and she'd tried to kill them all.

Shelke seemed unbothered by that. _"I will assist you to the best of my abilities because I have been instructed to do so. Trust and personal feelings on the matter are not relevant to the mission. Much less those from the most immature of those involved."_

Yuffie grew infuriated at the insinuation. "I'll show you immature, you—"

"Try to put aside whatever grievances you have for the moment," Cait Sith interrupted before they could escalate further. "We've offered to work on treating her condition for her cooperation, since her abilities will be essential, and she's constantly being monitored. Besides, she has no reason to betray us now that the chip inside her has been removed and Heidegger has already written her off."

The kunoichi was clearly not fine with it, but relented.

"Now that that's settled, what's the situation here now?" Crimson asked into the earpiece.

 _"Heidegger has enacted a curfew after the riots that followed shortly after the information leak. With the war now ongoing, all civilians have been instructed to remain indoors and various mechanical units have been deployed in each Sector to enforce it. I can spot three within the station building you are next to using the security cameras."_

Crimson cautiously opened the door to check and found the station to be a mess. The windows inside were broken, debris scattered around ranging from glass to metal to cans. Some of the lockers in the station were tossed downwards, while others had holes punched in the steel from bullets.

The whirring of gears drew her eyes to their source. A machine moved back and forth with a pair of treads, armed with a shield in front of it. There was a gun-barrel mounted on the head, with a camera lens on top of it to monitor its surroundings.

Crimson activated Sense and let the information feed into her mind as she spotted the other two on the higher level of the station, leading out to the street. Then she pulled back as one turned in their direction and spoke into the earpiece. "Can you disable them?"

 _"Their network is connected to a secured mainframe within Shinra Headquarters,"_ Shelke responded. _"The best I can do at the moment is mask the loss of the signals if they are destroyed and create a loop so that you remain undetected on the security monitors. I need for Cait Sith to connect the transceiver it has into the main system before I can shut them down."_

"In other words, we have to get through the city and storm Shinra's place," Barret said as he adjusted his new gun-arm. "That means we have to take out these tin-cans along the way, right?"

 _"Engaging in combat is fine, so long as you remain undetected. Something that can be seen by the few actual Deepground members remaining above the surface will likely draw attention and increase the likelihood of the priority targets escaping."_

"We'll leave the station and then take the side-roads and alleys to avoid being spotted by anyone who can radio it in and fight only when necessary," Crimson said, turning to party. "Cloud, you shouldn't have much trouble tearing through them since they weren't made for dealing with SOLDIER. Lockhart, those models in particular are composed of metal that's electric-resistant, but they're vulnerable to extreme changes in temperature. Your fire and ice magic will do the trick."

"I'll take out the one on the ground floor and draw their fire," Cloud said, pulling his heavy blade from the magnetic holster on his back.

Tifa cracked her knuckles. "Then the two on the top are mine."

Once the unit on the ground shift its lens away, Crimson opened the door wider and gave them the signal to move. She then briefly lost sight of Cloud as his enhanced muscles sprung forward. In the span of a second he'd jumped in while bringing the thick steel down, filling the air with the sound of crunching metal as the Alert Head was sheared in twain.

Both of the remaining machines shifted towards the sound picked up by their microphones. Then they opened fire at him. He brought his blade around to shield himself as he moved ahead and kept their attention.

Tifa darted in next, a throbbing sphere of fire in one hand and a white-and-blue cannonball of frigid cold in the other. She flung the blazing sphere first. The Fire 2 spell ruptured on contact with one, blowing it apart as metal bits scattered from the internal fluids combusting.

The Ice 2 spell left a trail of frost as it followed, smashing into the second and encasing its outer shell in a layer of greyish rime while everything inside was frozen solid. She then jumped off the row of lockers and up to the upper level, slamming her fist into the machine and shattering it to bits. "Done."

The others made their way inside and quickly ascended the stairs. When they reached the street exit they found that it wasn't only the station that was a mess. Sector 1 as a whole had seen better days.

Rubble from buildings was scattered about and scorch marks could be made out on the concrete. Power lines were toppled, cars were overturned or riddled with dents and holes and broken windows. Most of the buildings looked like they had been broken into as well and more mechanical foes roamed the streets.

"This place looks like a warzone," Cid stated as they ran out of the building and turned a corner to slip into the alley there.

"The riots must've gotten really bad." Tifa frowned. "I wonder how many people were hurt?"

 _"It was estimated that more than 2,000 were killed during the mass unrest, with thrice that in injuries,"_ Shelke volunteered.

"There's been more than that," Aerith said they came to a standstill when they found another Alert Head obstructing their path around a corner. Yuffie pulled out and flung her paper crane, slicing through it cleanly before returning to her hand. "I can hear a lot of restless souls unable to move on."

 _"The number of those who may have perished from injuries and the fallout hasn't been accounted for yet. Most of the participants are thought to be residents of the Slums, incised by the increase in the energy costs and the casualties of the Plate Fall."_

"It's a travesty that it came to this," Cait Sith said as he rode on Nanaki's back as they continued to move through the Sector. "Midgar itself may end up being abandoned once all is said and done."

"Most likely," Vincent agreed.

"Why's that?" Yuffie asked him. "We're just bringing down these guys, so why would the entire city be abandoned?"

"Much of Midgar's infrastructure is tied into Shinra, including the government, and its prosperity was due to being responsible for most of the world's energy supply," Vincent explained. "All the losses and damages can't be repaired without significant capital. More than even Shinra can bring to bear alone. Their only recourse will be to increase the prices of energy world-wide and then try to enforce that increase through military force or political pressure."

"Except now they can't," Cait Sith added. "With all their secrets out, no one will be willing to bear with the stigma of working alongside of them legally and the amount of political pressure they can apply will be eroded. And while people who weren't directly involved are willing to stomach their acts for the sake of convenience, the moment that energy stops being cheaper and safer than the alternative power sources that were used before, people will stop using it. So once Midgar loses its primary source of economic activity, there's no way for it to keep functioning when the costs exceed the profits. Various businesses will leave it behind and the citizens will follow."

"But what about the people who can't move, huh?" Barret asked. "Most people who lived in the Slums stayed there because they couldn't find another place to go. I doubt most of 'em will be able to even cross the wastelands, let alone find someplace else they can afford. Same happened to Corel when it burned down because of Shinra."

Cait Sith nodded his head, acknowledging that fact. "I've been working on a relocation program in the months since the Plate Fall, among other things. The main problem with establishing new settlements is that most suitable locations are too dangerous due to monsters, which is a part of why I've been seeking talented and willing individuals like Miss Rui to replace the need for reliance on Shinra's forces. We can see if the citizens of Corel would be willing to relocate as well once it's up and running."

Barret let out a low grunt in response, but nothing else that indicated he was hopeful that it would bring some relief to the people of his home. Even if they blamed him, he was still willing to do what he felt was best for them. He wouldn't be able to face Dyne and his wife in death otherwise.

The conversation died there as they made their way to the outskirts of the Shinra Headquarters. Unlike the streets before, there were both armed guards and mechanical forces assembled. And inside of the building, on the first floor, was what looked to be a battlesuit like what Heidegger used in Costa del Sol.

"I can't see a way to get in through the front without being spotted," Cloud stated. "Do we fight our way in?"

"No, we shouldn't…" Crimson lowered her head and thought on it for a bit. "We can use the elevator in the underground parking lot that we used the last time to get inside, but we getting there will put us in the line of sight. I could try using putting the guards to sleep, but it won't stop the machines from causing a ruckus and alerting the rest inside. Does anyone else have any suggestions?"

A silence hung in the air as they considered their options until Cloud came up with the solution. "Does everyone remember the battle on the Cargo Ship, with the first Jenova Spawn we fought?"

"Yes. Why—" Realization dawned on Crimson mid-question and she turned to Aerith. "The spell it used on us that frozen half of us in time. We weren't aware of anything while under it, so if you could use that we could get past them."

"…I don't have that knowledge personally, but maybe I can access it." She pointed to one of the materia on her bangle. "Can I borrow your Time Materia?"

"I'm not sure the spell is accessible if it's there," Crimson said as she passed it off to her.

"The Time Materia already contains the knowledge of how to use personal time manipulation, it just hasn't been unlocked yet since it hasn't been mastered," Aerith explained as she slotted it into her Princess Guard along with the All Materia. "But as I am now, I should able to draw out that knowledge myself and use it to freeze them all in time for just long enough."

She took a deep breath and then concentrated, causing her features to scrunch up as a phantasmal clock appeared beneath the various foes. Then they all stopped moving, frozen in a moment of time. "That should hold them for a minute or two."

"Then let's go." Crimson broke cover and the others followed as they quickly made their way to the entrance of the underground parking lot and the elevator there. She pulled out the card that belonged to Hojo's assistant and used it. The metal shutters parted and the grate sealing it off moved to reveal the elevator platform leading upwards.

"We'll head up first to access the President's console," Cait Sith said as they climbed inside of it and Cloud pushed the button to get it moving before the Stop spell ended. "That should give Miss Rui access to the rest of the systems and Deepground."

As she rode the elevator into the company she had served for the first time in a long time, Crimson considered everything that was said earlier. If things went well, it really would be the downfall of Shinra no matter what. They couldn't cover anything up when it came to what the mako reactors did to the surrounding lands and the various crimes against humanity they committed anymore.

 _Providing Rufus survives this, he'll likely nearly-everything to just keep a fraction of his wealth_ … Her thoughts trailed off as something else came to mind and she reached for her earpiece. "Shelke Rui, when we plug in the transceiver can you copy and delete data off Shinra's mainframe?"

 _"Of course."_

"Then download every location of where Shinra has weapons stored for us to destroy later and delete their weapon blueprints, records related to the SOLDIER program, and anything else related to bioengineering. We can't risk someone else arming themselves using that information ever again."

There was a prolonged pause before she responded, _"…I have received authorization to do so within certain specifications."_

Crimson shifted her gaze over to the Cait Sith doll at that, looking for an explanation through the man's proxy.

"While I agree that getting rid of the things that cross moral boundaries and related to the SOLDIER project are for the best, some of that data may be necessary in the future and those armaments could be repurposed for defense of the new settlement I mentioned," Cait Sith stated. "Still, it was a good catch. Tell me, what do you plan to do after all of this is said and done?"

"Dealing with Sephiroth and the remnants of Jenova. After that…" Her eyes flickered between Cloud and Aerith for a moment. "I'm not fully sure."

"Then would you be interested in joining my Intelligence department?"

Crimson actually looked surprised at the offer. "You want me to work for you?"

"Your expertise would be invaluable as head of the department," he explained. "I'll need people that can be relied on to prevent things like this from happening again and won't be subverted or corrupted. Who better than those gathered here, doing what they can against all odds?"

To be honest, she wasn't sure if she wanted to get back in the same line of work that she just left behind. Sure, she did have the experience from being raised since childhood to investigate and gather intelligence. But, at the same time, she was worried that it might be too easy to fall into the same mindset that she had previously, where everything was excusable because it was for the greater good.

Yet, once Shinra was gone, someone else would attempt to fill in the gap left behind. If she was in a position to find out prematurely, she could prevent that from happening and make sure that no one undermined their efforts. And if it meant she could stop others from ending up like she did, wasn't that worth striving for?

"…I'll consider it, but only after everything is said and done," she said, ending the conversation. It was a big decision, and not only hers to make since she'd chosen to be with Cloud and promised to help Aerith deal with Jenova.

But none of it mattered if they all died, so they needed to keep their focus on the battles ahead for now.


	70. Chapter 70

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Reaper2908 : True but who knows.**

 **Seta88 : Thanks for the comment.**

 **Enjoy!**

Heidegger's mouth was fixed in a frown as he observed the battlefield from the monitor in the control room, having no intention of placing himself in the line of fire. Shinra's military might had been unparalleled since he had taken the reins back when the former President had been around. And the Deepground SOLDIERs were among the most elite and skilled in history.

However, even the strongest force alive could be taken down with sheer numbers. He could only relate their current situation to watching mice swarming over a herd of elephants. The ordinary troops were mere men wielding guns against his genetically modified super-soldiers, but for every one they killed another three took their place.

 _The entitled brat must've pulled in troops from just about every corner of the globe._ His teeth gnashed behind his pursed lips at the thought of what the fighting would cost them in the end. At this rate, even if he managed to have them defend the city, they wouldn't have the manpower or resources to continue as they were.

His day was only made worse when the door slid open and revealed Hojo. The scientist entered the room, his expression impassive despite the fact that the source of their problems could be traced back to the fool's experiments that he let loose. A snarl bubbled up in Heidegger's throat as he demanded, "I told you to stay in your lab and finish the damn weapon you promised me you'd make with that materia!"

Despite the fact that Heidegger towered over him, casting a menacing shadow over the hunchback scientist that exuded the promise of violence, Hojo showed no signs of concern or fear. He merely pushed his glasses up and stated, "The Ancient and her companions are arriving through the main elevators, and the systems have been compromised by Shelke the Transparent."

"What!?" He turned to the computer system and went over the log of the elevator's activity. It showed no sign of use since the last time. Just to be safe, he tried to remotely disable it and switch over to the camera, only to find that his ability to do so had been cut off. "Those… _damn_ … **rats!** "

With a wordless shout of pure rage, he slammed both his fists into the console in frustration. The blow was hard enough that keyboard shattered into pieces and sparks shot out of the underlying circuitry. Not that he cared—it was all useless the moment that his system was compromised.

"Deploy the remaining troops throughout Deepground and above," Hojo said—no, ordered—after watching that display of rage with distaste. "Have the remaining Tsviets you've left to cower behind stand in their way. The Ancient must die."

Heidegger's already rampant temper flared at the very notion that Hojo could order him around when everything went wrong because of him. He stormed over with a fist raised, anger bleeding over his common sense. Then he swung it around like a sledgehammer, intending to sink every ounce of rage and frustration into the scrawny scientist…

Yet, the meaty fist never reached his face. It was stopped midway by what used to be Hojo's arm. Only it wasn't that of a human's anymore.

It had changed. _Warped_ entirely into a smooth and grey alien appendage that came down to a single point. A trio of blue stripes circled what used to be the forearm, and what had been the sleeve of his lab coat turned into the same meat with a dark-blue pad over the shoulder.

 _"The charade has gone on long enough,"_ Hojo said, his voice taking on a strange timber before a sickeningly moist sound came from his flesh that rippled. His lab coat and glasses seemingly melted into his skin that was becoming duller and polished at the same time. His eyes were sucked into his skull as his head bulged into what looked like a helmet with an orange dome, separated from his torso that expanded by a blue collar. And his figure gradually narrowed down until there was only a single point where his feet had been, hovering off the floor.

Anger and rage were replaced with fear as he asked, "W-What the hell did you do to yourself?"

 _"I've become the ultimate lifeform,"_ he answered. _"I have managed to successfully incorporate the Jenova cells into my body. Now there is only the awakening of Omega left."_

"You turned yourself into a damn monster is what you did!" Heidegger tried to pull back his arm only for the alien appendage that was cool to the touch and slimy like a slug to coil around his arm and hold fast. He reached behind his back and pulled out his firearm, pointing it towards the domed head and pulling the trigger. The sound of the gunfire stung his ears as the bullet smashed against Hojo's head…

Only for hole punched into it to simply close as the bullet was forced out by the alien tissue. Then there was flash of hot pain and Heidegger cried out in agony. The tail-like appendage with a bladed-tip attached to Hojo's head had come around and severed his gun-wielding hand, leaving the firearm to drop the floor with it still attached as blood poured from both the hand and the arm.

 _"From the beginning Shinra was nothing more than a means to an end for me,"_ Hojo said as he raised his arm that gripped Heidegger and floated further off the floor until they were both in midair. _"At this point, it is no longer necessary beyond stopping the Ancient from interfering further as I awaken Omega and attain the knowledge of the cosmos."_

Then he flicked his arm to the side with as much effort as one would to swat a slow-moving fly. A pained cry was forced from the depths of Heidegger's throat as he hit the wall near the exit. It felt like something had broken from the impact, but his fear dulled the pain in lieu of getting to his feet and fleeing from the monster in front of him.

"Guards!" he shouted as he hobbled out of the door, only to see that the Deepground Troopers that he had stationed to guard the command room were on the ground, writhing. Their flesh was bulging at certain points, meat swelling and growing misshapen. Heidegger only had the briefest of seconds to realize the extent of Hojo's madness before an appendage curled around his throat and tightened as it dragged him back into the room.

 _"Your incompetence will no longer be a factor,"_ the transformed scientist continued over the choking sounds Heidegger made as he flailed his feet and tried to use his remaining hand to free himself. Raising one of his appendages that sharpened further until it became a piecing point, Hojo then thrust it into Heidegger's body. _"I shall implant you with the Jenova cells I've propagated within my body. I doubt someone as unsuitable as yourself will be able to retain your ego, but as long as you survive long enough to carry out our purpose, that will be enough."_

Heidegger fell to the ground as Hojo pulled his arm free, only to start writhing himself as something began to eat him from the inside out. It was invading him, violating his body and mind. Taking over his flesh, destroying his ego, melding his memories, shifting his form, and assimilating everything that made him what he was, it would leave behind a shell that would only serve the whole. Unable to stop it, unable to scream, the last sight Heidegger's eyes registered after Hojo drifted out of the room was that of a black cat doll emerging from behind the console and staring at him.

Then Heidegger as an individual ceased to exist.

 **[-oOo-]**

The President's office was in a state of mid-repair, showing signs of an explosion having gone off previously. The console was fully-functional though, having been replaced on Heidegger's orders according to Shelke. It seemed as though he had intended to move into the office after he solidified his rule, a throne upon which he intended to sit and overlook his kingdom of steel.

But, other than that, there was nothing of interest. So once Cait Sith had connected the transceiver into it and Shelke began to hack her way through the system, they boarded the elevator again and began to descend into the lower levels of the headquarters. It was no sooner than they'd passed what would have been the Main Lobby that the cat doll, which had been lying limply on Nanaki's back the moment its manipulator shifted his attention elsewhere, abruptly came to life and jumped up with a yelp of, "Hojo's turned himself into some kind of monster!"

Needless to say, he grabbed all of their attention as he went on about everything that was heard from below through the doll still there from his initial infiltration with Kunsel. Hojo had decided to simply move along his own plans and had infected Heidegger with Jenova cells. The process seemingly left him acting more akin to the Sephiroth Clones from the sound of it.

"If he's turned himself into a creature that can propagate Jenova cells and infect others, he probably intends to use that ability with the Protomateria to take control of Omega," Aerith said, her fingers clutching her staff tightly as she shook her head.

Then the elevator came to a stop and she held it forward. A wall of crystalized light sprung up in front of them and intercepted the welcoming gift bestowed upon them by the unit of Deepground Soldiers stationed by the entrance, a hail of gunfire. She then thrust it out and used it as a battering ram to knock them down before the spell wove around her companions to protect them.

Electricity crackled in Crimson's palm as she held it out and let loose a Bolt 2 spell that struck the closest one. The lightly-armored woman was blown backwards with a pained shout, her back breaking against the wall as Cloud rushed forward and swung his sword to knocked away the others in their way. Breathing room secured, Nanaki and Tifa let loose Fire 2 spells that encompassed the unit and left smolder corpses behind.

"So I'm guessing the first thing Heidegger did was send out a warning about us." Crimson scoffed as she moved her hand over her earpiece. "Where are they now?"

 _"Hojo has boarded the rail system in the company of guards who appear to have started mutating,"_ Shelke answered. _"Heidegger has meanwhile gone to release Weiss the Immaculate, after sending out an alert within Deepground to prepare for your arrival. He appears to be carrying a Huge Materia bomb similar to the one to be used in Junon."_

"He has the Protomateria as well," Aerith added. "Midgar is the most populated city in the world, and Heidegger's been making everyone miserable. If that bomb goes off and they all die in that state, it'll start up Omega and Chaos for certain. We have to hurry."

Taking those words to heart, the group began to move with haste through the underground lobby of the Shinra Headquarters and out the corridor to find a bridge that was gave them a view of the underground city. The size was impressive, despite having been told ahead of time what it would look like. There was even a false sky above and they could see the Rector in the distance.

 **"Open fire!"** Of course, almost immediately they came under fire again. This time by Paratroopers that were equipped with rocket-launchers.

Aerith's Shield spell protected them from the brunt of the impact. But it still knocked them backwards from the sheer force as the smoke obscured everything in front of them. The Paratroopers above were circling around to line up another shot when Nanaki tapped into the Enemy Skill Materia and then let loose the Laser spell within.

The red beams speared through the air towards the aerial units. They quickly tried to accelerate out of the way, only to find that the beams curved around then gave chase no matter how hard they tried to escape. The moment they connected, the beams ruptured into explosions that sent them spiraling down to the ground.

"Everyone okay?" Cloud asked. He was met with varying agreements. They'd been shaken, but largely unharmed. "They took out the bridge with that one."

"That's fine. We don't have time to try navigating the entire maze of corridors," Crimson said as she got back to her feet. "Yuffie, Cid. We need Leviathan and Phoenix to carry us."

Cid reached into his pocket and grasped Phoenix's Summoning Materia while Yuffie held out Leviathan's on her bangle. Golden fire and a burst of grey waters accompanied the arrival of the two summonings. Atop the Lord of the Seas and Vermillion Bird, they sailed through the air, navigating between the towering buildings and until they broke through the skyline and the Reactor that loomed over the city, aglow with the teal light, grew closer.

That was when there was a blur that passed by the corner of Crimson's eyes. She turned her head to see that more Paratroopers were circling around and getting ready to fire to the right and left. She activated Sense and prepared to shoot them down as Barret and Vincent also took aim when Leviathan abruptly dipped as the screaming sound of an artillery shell cutting through the air gave birth to a deep rumble that rattled her teeth as an explosion went off where they'd been.

 **"That's Azul!"** Tifa's shout reached over the ringing in her ears.

 _So he's the one who killed Kunsel?_ Crimson traced the shot to a hulking man standing on top of a building as he lined up another shot and forced Leviathan to swerve to the side. The Paratroopers then began their assault, only for Aerith to hold out her staff and produce another barrier to guard the larger summoning against their shots to avoid having it disperse and leave them falling to their deaths.

 **"We need to deal with the Beast-man!"** Nanaki shouted with a snarl as he let loose another Laser spell that sought out four of them, while Vincent and Barret laid down support fire and blasted those they could. Another artillery shell slammed into the barrier and it buckled with cracks forming into it. **"He's going to shoot us down eventually."**

 **"Cid!"** Cloud shouted, using his arm to beckon the pilot flying separately closer. **"Give me a lift and I'll go deal with him!"**

A jolt ran through Crimson when she heard that and she wheeled around towards him. "You can't go alone. Wait to we get closer and we'll attack as a group."

He turned to her, eyes narrowed with a calculated determination as he rose into a crouch. "We can't waste time dealing with him together. I'll manage. Just make sure that you stop Heidegger and Hojo."

 _"But…"_ She trailed off when she realized she was letting her feelings interfere with her mission again. Cloud was the only one who could reasonably take him in a fight without delaying them when they still had other opposition to deal with. Even so, she pulled her Thunder Materia free and then handed it over to him. "Take this then. Fight at range if you can help it."

He took it with a nod, their fingers overlaying one another for a moment and silently passing on everything that had to be said. Then he jumped off Leviathan's back. Phoenix grabbed hold of his shoulders, sharp talons digging into but not penetrating his mako-tempered and spell-covered skin, and they sped towards the Tsviet.

 **[-oOo-]**

 _It's better this way,_ Cloud thought to himself as the wind rushed against him and gravity hammered at his body as the summoning dodged the shots being sent their way by the Cerulean Tsviet with as much speed as it could manage. If the others came with him, they could die fighting against this one.

 **"We're going in hot!"** Cid shouted over the rumble of the explosions and rushing air. **"Make sure you stick the landing and try not to die!"**

 **"Got it!"** he shouted back, his hands balling into fists as Azul's face came into view. The man was grinning in anticipation, having stopped his shooting. He wanted this, a fight between who he viewed as the strongest.

Phoenix let loose a shrill, guttural cry of rage before it scattered embers and reddish motes that were driven forward by a mighty beat of its wings towards the Cerulean Tsviet. The motes blossomed into a billowing wave of fire that crashed down on the rooftop and its surroundings, shattering glass with a roar as it engulfed it utterly. Then it picked up speed and threw Cloud forward towards where the man had been.

Cloud reached for his sword, knowing that wouldn't be enough. Grasping it firmly, he spun as he used the additional momentum to come crashing down with his blade. It smashed into the shaft of the hammer that served as the barrel of the cannon, and the stone building itself buckled under the blow while the Cerulean Tsviet smirked.

Then Cloud triggered his Earth Materia attached to the blade. It sent the force of an earth-shattering Quake 3 spell through his sword and into the man. The building _ruptured_ as the force transferred through Azul and into it, collapsing in a wave of stone dust that smothered the surrounding flames and blocked all sight.

Cloud landed on the street unharmed even as the curtain of dust continued to blanket the area. He couldn't breathe in it, but unlike a normal person's vision he could still see. So when he made out the hulking silhouette rushing towards him, he wasted no time in putting all his strength into a mighty swing. The hammer and the sword met, and the force of the impact sent out a shockwave that dispersed the stone dust to reveal the still-grinning face of the Cerulean Tsviet.

"It looks like you'll have more fight in you… **than the last one!** " Azul shouted that last part as he put more strength into his arms and overpowered Cloud, knocking him away.

Cloud got himself under control and skidded back on the dust-covered ground, holding his stance with his sword in front of him. "You're going to pay for killing him!"

"Is that so?" The Cerulean Tsviet merely smiled in a way that bared his teeth as he rolled his neck with an audible crack. He then gestured for Cloud to bring it on. "If you're capable of that, then come!"

Cloud charged and the battle began.


	71. Chapter 71

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Reaper2908 : Exactly!**

 **Seta88 : Thank you!**

 **Enjoy!**

It was a rougher landing than Crimson liked as they came down as close to the reactor as they could with the enemies on their trails. Yuffie's limitations when it came to summoning were reached by that point, leaving Leviathan to deposit them before its time was up. Then it turned around and released its fury upon their Deepground assailants while no longer restrained by passengers.

Dark grey waters appeared through its will and proceeded to form a rushing torrent from above. It came crashing down, smashing everything beneath it. That included the Pegasus Riders and Paratroopers that annoyed the Lord of the Seas, who were swatted like flies as the Summoning dissipated.

While Yuffie rummaged through their supplies to get an Ether to help clear her head, Crimson looked out in the direction where Cloud had gone off. The sounds of destruction and buildings collapsing in the wake of their colliding strength made it clear that the battle was still ongoing. But, as much as it pained her, she couldn't do more to aid him against Kunsel's killer than she already had.

 _"Heidegger is nearing the reactor now,"_ Shelke said through the earpiece. _"Hojo seems to be making his way towards the hangar, likely attempting to get out of the blast radius of the explosion. It may be more effective to divide into two groups, in order to reach them both before they accomplish their respective goals."_

 _Well, she's not wrong,_ Crimson agreed silently. It was the only logical choice they had in the end if they were going to accomplish anything. Heidegger was a monster now, but they'd killed worse. It was the Materia Bomb and the potential release of the next Tsviet that were the more immediate threats. Since she was the only one here who could disarm the bomb, she would have to take the reins of one group.

That left Hojo to the second group. He was the bigger threat, all things considered. He was the one trying to kickstart Omega, had the Protomateria, and injected himself with Jenova cells. Aerith was the best-suited to deal with him while backed with support from the others.

That in mind, she turned to the others and divided their roles. "Vincent, Yuffie, Nanaki, and Lockhart will go with Aerith to deal with Hojo. Everyone else will come with me to put down Heidegger while I disarm the Materia Bomb. Rui, when Cloud finishes with Azul, direct him to us, understood?"

 _"Acknowledged,"_ Shelke responded through the earpiece.

"Just a moment." Aerith halted their separation in order to begin casting spells. The Wall spell would give them an added layer of protection, strong enough to shield them from harm for a time. The Haste spell would quicken their steps, allowing them to get to their destination in time. And the Regen spell would soothe any pain they found themselves in should their defense be broken.

Aerith then gave Crimson her Gravity Materia as a replacement for the Thunder Materia she'd given Cloud. "All of you, be careful."

"As much as we can be," Crimson said as reassuringly as she could while coddled by the grouping of spells. "You guys be safe as well."

Then they split apart. Crimson watched Aerith's group depart until another loud crash stemmed from the battlefield they'd left behind. Her gaze turned towards it and she issued a silent but fervent wish for Cloud's safety, before she turned her back on him and went to deal with Heidegger.

 **[-oOo-]**

A roar bellowed out as Azul lunged, his large body crossing the distance between them that stretched three buildings apart. He swung his hammer around in mid-air as he neared Cloud, and it met with the edge of the Buster Sword. They hammered into each other with enough force to make the air quake and shatter whatever glass hadn't been broken so far, while shards scraped against the ground as Cloud slid back.

Despite the good showing earlier, Cloud was on the defensive. Azul was both strong and fast. He didn't have technique, or at least he didn't deem it necessary, as the brute strength and speed he had were just enough to flatten most opposition with a single blow.

"Where's that bravado from before!?" Azul demanded, hammer chambered as he rushed in with surprising speed that belayed his size. Bringing it around like he was riding on a hurricane, the hammer threatened to break every bone in Cloud's body whether or not he blocked it.

Triggering the Earth Materia on his Buster Sword, Cloud slammed it down into the ground in front of him and directed Quake 3 spell outward. The Cerulean Beast leapt through the air in response as the ground beneath him was devastated, buildings and structures toppling as their very foundation was ripped apart by the spell. That was opening Cloud needed as his Limit Break activated.

The energy was nebulous in itself within Cloud, on the verge of becoming something else. But, right now, he needed something assuredly fast and strong. So he channeled it into his blade and swung hard to send the Blade Beam flying out.

A crescent of condensed and pure power, backed by the might of Cloud's muscles, sailed forward. It cut through the air and its radiant light overtook Azul as it neared him with the intention of ripping him apart utterly. It was hard to dodge anything in mid-air, so it would hit him head-on.

Azul laughed joyously at the prospect. A smile that bared teeth was displayed as he swung his hammer around to meet the challenge before him. The face of the hammer met the energy wave with a thunderous crash… and the hammer shattered it, rupturing the attack and causing it to break apart with a mako-shaded explosion.

… He really was a monster. That attack could have leveled a building and leave only dust behind. It had done that to one in Costa del Sol, after Crimson had been shot. Yet, the fact that Azul shattered it like glasswork left Cloud utterly stunned, sweat rolling down his brow.

Azul capitalized on it. The moment he landed, the Tsviet pointed the barrel of the cannon attached to his hammer towards Cloud. Then he fired an artillery round straight for him.

Cloud snapped out of his shock and brought the flat of the Buster Sword around to his front just in time as the trigger was pulled. The round smashed against the Buster Sward and exploded. The force of the blast sent a jolt through his arms and body, costing him his balance without solid footing to brace against. It created an opening, a moment in time where his guard was down and he was vulnerable.

And, in that moment, Azul closed the distance again with a monstrous charge. Another clash of strength followed as their two weapons crashed into one another, only Azul didn't stop his charge. Instead, he picked up speed and swept Cloud along, his feet sliding against the ground as he tried in futility to brace himself. Then Azul put everything into a swing that used the rotation of his hips, rocketing the smaller swordsman upwards.

 _"Nnghh!"_ A groan was forced out of Cloud's mouth as he tumbled upwards in the air, arms aching and feeling the force of gravity fighting against him on the way up. Then Azul leapt up with those inhumanly strong legs and was chambered to swing the hammer down. He twisted himself around and brought the blade into a guard-position again before it struck.

A resounding metallic crash echoed out as Cloud was spiked downwards. Pain blossomed in his body and another building was devastated as he plowed through two sets of floors before hitting the concrete bottom. He let out a bloody cough as he drew air into his lungs and felt agony in his arm that was now broken from the force of Azul's swing.

Cloud forced himself to ignore the pain as Azul fell down towards him, fully intent on finishing him off with a crushing blow. He gritted his teeth, raised his other arm towards the opening in the broken ceiling, and triggered the Thunder Materia to let loose a Bolt 3 spell with a violent jolt to his mind. The blinding bolt rose from the earth to the sky and struck the Cerulean Tsviet in-between, knocking him off his planned course as smoke trailed from his body.

Seconds were bought at best. Cloud didn't waste any of them, forcing himself to stand as he used a Restore Materia to patch his wounds. The broken bones snapped back into place and his aches were soothed, allowing him to ready himself for the next exchange. That came when Azul burst through the wall, a broad smile on his face.

"Doesn't this make your blood boil?" Azul asked as he tried to smash Cloud into paste with his hammer again, a simple but effective means of killing. Cloud deftly avoided it and brought the Buster Sword around with a swing that forced Azul to lean his head back to avoid losing it. Then he slammed it forward to headbutt Cloud backwards. "This is what it means to be a warrior!"

"What are you talking about?" Cloud demanded as he got back to his feet with a roll, still able to fight.

The Cerulean Tsviet spun the hammer around and took aim with the cannon to fire. "A battle of this caliber is a privilege only the strong may relish! Rejoice in it!"

"Is that how you justify working with Shinra!?" Cloud asked in turn as he darted around the gunfire and countered with a Bolt 2 spell. "Even knowing all the things they've done!"

The serpentine bolt of lightning that snaked out slammed into the larger man's chest, tendrils of electricity worming around his body before sinking into the ground. It barely hindered him long enough for Cloud to throw himself forward, wreathed in the light of the Limit Break a second time. It culminated in a downward slash containing three times his normal strength. "Even knowing all the people they've killed!?"

Azul tried to block it with his hammer, but the empowered swing cut through it and the point of the blade sliced into his mako-tempered flesh. Blood spurted out of the line drawn that ran from his shoulder to his abdomen, and for the second time in recent history the Cerulean Beast bled. It left him laughing rapaciously as, deprived of his favored weapon, Azul then use his left fist to punch Cloud hard enough to launch him through the wall and onto the street. "The strong survive and the weak fall. That is the way of the world!"

Cloud wiped the blood from his mouth as the grip on his sword tightened once more. _"The strong_ … exist to… **protect the weak!"**

At that last part as he triggered another Quake 3 spell that rocked the area they were in. Still within the confines of the room and unable to jump upwards this time, there was no escape as the ground opened up beneath the Cerulean Tsviet. It swallowed him whole and the surrounding building collapsed inwards to bury him beneath several tons of rubble.

As the rumbling slowly settled, an uneasy silence took hold. Cloud took deep breaths as he stood there, sword at the ready as he stared down at the pile of debris. He was looking for any sign of movement, the slightest twitch that would show that Azul was still alive.

A full minute passed and hope wormed its way into his chest that it had been enough. Just enough to kill the man. To make sure he couldn't go after Crimson and the others.

 **"RRRAAAUUUGGGHHH!"** Then that hope was snuffed as the pile exploded outwards and a monstrous roar bellowed out.

Using the heavy and thick blade as a shield to block the rocketing debris from hitting him also served to save his life as a metal claw backed by muscle reached out of the dust silhouette to smash against the blade. It knocked him backwards until hit the building behind him with a crash, forcing out another hacking cough as a result. But he got onto his feet as the dust cleared and witnessed the Cerulean Beast in his full, monstrous glory after Azul ripped away his human guise and fully embraced his inner beast—Arch Azul.

 **"If you believe the weak are to be protected, then come!"** the Tsviet snarled in a bestial tone, maw open to reveal fangs as he took a guttural breath. **"Prove it with your strength!"**

 **[-oOo-]**

"—should work," Aerith finished telling the rest of her group, outlining the plan she had come up with from atop of the summoned chocobo. Her staff was held outwards, a barrier of light emerging from the tip to block the gunfire from assault machines that had been deployed to delay them. "I'll try to support you, but please be careful!"

The leonine warrior snarled as he let loose his Matra Magic spell, sending the missile constructs forward. They tore apart the automatons standing in their way with prejudice, the resulting shrapnel held back by her spell as the rest scattered about in a cloud of dark smoke. The moment's reprieve from the constant drum of gunfire hammering at their ears served as the signal for them to press on.

Mog stirred his loyal companion in the direction that Aerith pointed her staff and it rushed forward through the smoke. The chocobo's powerful legs gained speed before leaping off the edge of the collapsed floor and onto the rooftop of the next building over. Tiles were smashed loudly beneath its talons as they dug into the damaged rooftop and rushed ahead, joined by the footfalls of the others as they followed.

Bounding over the rooftops to avoid the maze of the streets below that formed the ruined city, they leapt off the final building and the summoned mount beat its wings in order to slow its descent before landing on the uneven earth chiseled into a hanger connecting to the wastelands. There they found Hojo there in his human guise, but Aerith could feel the change from when he'd been fully human beneath the surface. The connection to Jenova was also there, but unlike the Sephiroth Clones his consciousness was still intact and he was operating under his own will more than anything.

"Ifalna's daughter," Hojo said, his voice devoid of any surprise at her arrival. "I knew you'd come. As the last of the Ancients, it is only logical that you would arrive with your guardians in a feeble attempt to stop the natural progression of things."

Aerith dismounted Mog and dismissed the Summoning as the others landed behind her, their Haste spells wearing out. "Professor Hojo, you of all people must know what you're doing now—"

He cut her off. "Spare me the lecture, child. I believe we have already covered the topic of morality during our last encounter, and I have no desire to listen to the prattling of those who cannot grasp what I aim to achieve here."

"…You're right. No amount of talking will dissuade you." Her grasp on her Princess Guard tightened. "So I'll perform my duty and eliminate you!"

Her declaration of intent was met with Hojo snapping his fingers. In response, the pair of mutated men who had been warped by the implantation of the Jenova cells roared with a wet shrill that made their dull-grey flesh ripple and swell. The sacs of meat bulged to the point where they were twice Hojo's height and resembled the two spawns of Jenova they'd fought before in both feeling and presence—if only slightly lesser.

If Aerith had to guess, Jenova or Sephiroth had given him the necessary information to recreate them using his propagated cells rather than pieces of its flesh. Their base desires were the same after all.

"Kill them," Hojo ordered. The abominations obeyed. They swiveled their heads around towards Aerith and leaned their top-heavy bodies forward, points of sapphire light flashing in preparation.

Aerith called upon the inherited wisdom drawn from the Well of Knowledge and conjured forth the Wall spell to shield herself and the others once more. The prismatic shell weathered the barrage of lasers that tore apart the ground surrounding them with enough force that they threw up plumes of stone and dirt. Then it shattered to cover the others as they began the counter-attack.

Tifa broke through dirt veil first, a throbbing sphere of fire pooled in her right hand and a gathering of frost contained in her left. She flung them both at the pair of abominations while shouting, "Red! Take out the helicopters before he can get to one!"

Nanaki acquiesced with a roar as the Fire 2 and Ice 2 spells struck their respective targets, resulting in a column of flames and bloom of ice. He unleashed another Matra Magic spell that sent the missile constructs flying in an arch overhead. They bombarded the aircrafts in the hangar, which detonated as the explosions also ignited the fuel and left only smoldering wrecks of burning steel.

Nanaki then bolted forward, dashing through the opening that Tifa created towards the silhouette of Hojo behind the smokescreen created by the flames. Once when he was in range, he lunged with his fangs exposed to tear out Hojo's throat!

 _"Too slow."_ The smoke parted as Hojo abandoned his human guise and took on his monster form once more. His arm was pointed forward and an ethereal clock bound itself to Nanaki mid-lunge. The leonine warrior slowed to a crawl and was left open as Hojo then brought his tail-like appendage around and the bladed-tip lashed out with a surprising amount of force.

A pained snarl forced itself out of Nanaki's throat as it struck hard enough to knock him back through the air. His flesh was torn into by the organic blade between his shoulder and neck, leaving blood to seep from the wound onto the ground. It was only stopped from going deeper by the protection bequeathed by Aerith's Wall spell. He landed roughly and fought against the Slow spell to pool a throbbing, pulsing sphere of fire between his maw, intent on shooting it at the mad scientist.

"Red, look out!" Tifa shouted as the glare of the Blue Light blanketed his right side before the beam itself was fired with a deep thrum that drowned out his scream. Ice gathered as she put her hands together and then lobbed a cannonball-sized bundle of frost. It froze the spawn's head before it could fire again at Nanaki's prone form, leaving only the other one to deal with as it targeted her next.

 _"I deny your magic,"_ Hojo stated before she could finish casting another spell, pointing as he did Nanaki.

The forming ice dissipated as white noise assaulted Tifa's mind under a Silence spell, breaking her concentration and leaving her unable to use her magic as the greyish spawn released a pair of converging lasers from its appendages at her. She dove into a roll to escape the paired shots, but then the spawn's tail rose up and let loose a thicker beam that raked at the ground before rupturing into a gout of azure electricity that stole her feet from beneath her.

"I'll heal you!" Aerith pointed her staff at the two who had been injured and tapped into the Restore Materia adorning her Princess Guard to cast a Cure 3 spell over Tifa and Nanaki. Soothing light covered them as their injuries mended, before Aerith then focused on dispelling the Silence spell on Tifa. That was when she felt that very spell being cast upon her—or at least attempted by Hojo, only for it to slough off her as the Ribbon in her hair rendered her immune.

 _"A miscalculation, howev—"_ Hojo's words were silenced as a round from Death Penalty struck the center of his head. A second and third shot followed as Vincent flanked him from the side, one bullet catching him in the chest while the other punched through his shoulder and tore out a gouge in it. His inhuman body began to force out the foreign objects and repair the damage as he directed the purplish spawn toward the host of Chaos. _"Strike the annoyance down!"_

It turned towards Vincent as he continued to move and summoned forth spheres of water that swelled to massive size as they neared him. Once they reached their breaking point, they burst into surging torrents that threatened to sweep him away, only for Vincent to leap up into the air with inhuman agility and release the power contained in his Thunder Materia to send a Bolt 2 spell towards the purplish Jenova spawn. It let out a wet gurgle as the magical lightning coursed through its alien body.

Vincent then landed on the soaked ground with a splash and fired at Hojo again. The shot punched another hole in his head, a seemingly meaningless act as the damage was quickly accounted for and healed. Yet, even knowing that, Vincent shot twice more in order to keep him from noticing the speeding figure at his backside.

In the first place, their objective was the Protomateria that Aerith had sensed within him, lodged where his heart should be. The only reason they couldn't resort to completely obliterating him from a distance with Bahamut or using a big spell like Beta was because they couldn't risk damaging it. Once they retrieved it, they could pull back and scour the Jenova spawns from the face of the Planet with far more ease.

That task fell onto Yuffie. The kunoichi had gone around through the chaos of the battle, unseen amidst the smoke and unheard amidst the explosions thrown about by their attacks. Having gotten to his blindside and being unwilling to risk throwing it with all the attacks going around, she held the paper crane by its wing and struck from behind as fast as she could.

 **"NGGHGK!?"** A pained sound erupted from Hojo's non-visible mouth as the seemingly flimsy weapon cut him clean in half at the abdomen. Alien ichor, pale purple with a nauseous scent, burst free from the two halves as they toppled onto the floor.

Yuffie steadied herself from the lunge as she slid to a stop ahead of the two halves, and flicked her arm out to rid the paper crane of the alien ichor coating it. The fluid came off easily. She then turned toward the corpse to try and find the Protomateria—

"Move!" Vincent shouted.

—when death closed in through the corner of her eye, no sooner than the warning got out. Despite being severed in half with what should have been his upper-body splayed on the ground, the tail attached to his head shot out like a lance. Stretching with the bladed-tip aimed for her skull, he aimed to pierce through it for a kill.

Honed instincts kicked in reflexively. Yuffie threw her head to the side and felt a hot flash of pain as the blade hissed past her face and drew blood despite the coating of the Wall spell protecting it. But she managed to avoid the fatal blow and moved her arm around to throw her weapon through his skull in turn.

That was when it twisted and coiled like a serpent. The sinuous appendage curved around to ensnare her throat, settling for strangling her to get around the defensive spell. Oritsuru fell from her grasp as her fingers desperately tried to pull it away before she suffocated.

 _"A futile attempt,"_ Hojo said as the upper-half of his body floated back to the lower-half, which was now upright. They reconnected without issue, the severed parts seamlessly melding back together. _"It will take more than such base means to destroy this body."_

 _"Urrr….raa…gck…"_ She couldn't breathe as he forced her into the air by her neck as though to hang her. Her feet flailed about and her body writhed as she struggled fruitlessly.

"Let her go!" Vincent demanded, aiming Death Penalty at Hojo again. He didn't even get the chance to pull the trigger before azure flames enveloped him.

Yuffie's struggling lessened as her vision began to tunnel. Darkness encroached from the corner of her eyes and swallowed the light. Everything grew blurry before something red dropped down and she felt the temperature spike.

The Djinn of Hellfire descended at the summoning of Nanaki, freed from the Slow spell through Aerith's usage of the Time Materia. Quelling its flames to not burn the girl, it lashed out with its claws backed by flame-tempered muscles to sever the appendage from Hojo's body. Then, with a thrust of goat-like legs, Hojo's torso was caved in by its hoven feet and he was sent sailing backwards into the burning aircraft wreckage.

The destructive and visceral display of strength was then followed by its contrast. The fire elemental fought against its very raging nature to lift Yuffie tenderly, as if cradling an egg. Then it took a great bound into the air before a Blue Light attack from the purplish Jenova spawn struck it down.

Before it could take a second shot and get lucky, a Bolt 3 spell struck home. The blinding bolt of electricity caused it to shriek inhumanly loud as Vincent emerged from the azure flames, panting as his cloak smoldered. He was harmed but not out of the fight as his gauntlet crackled with electric streamers along the surface.

Ifrit then landed next to the leonine warrior long enough to scoop him up as well, before the ground where he'd been standing was raked by a piercing cerulean beam from the greyish spawn. To ensure the Summoning's escape with her friends, Tifa threw a Fire 3 spell that detonated on impact with the greyish spawn and sent out a gale of hot wind. The alien flesh was scorched black from the flames as it writhed around in place, flexing its body as though in agony.

Tifa and Vincent unleashed another Fire 3 and Bolt 3 respectively once Ifrit had made its way back to Aerith. The spells that represented the pinnacle of their basic elemental magic sailed through the air towards the pair of Jenova spawns. And both were countered as the purplish one raised a Reflect spell, a single viridian curtain stretched over them both.

They had just enough time to brace themselves before their respective spells were bounced back. The Wall spell covering them dealt with a majority of the damage at the cost of being torn to shreds, stopping them from being scorched and shocked to death. But the air expanding from the detonation and force of the lightning bolt knocked them both through the air, leaving them tumbling backwards. Both had only just gotten back up to their feet in time to see the greyish spawn was spewing a greenish cloud of gas now.

A moment before the billowing and rolling acrid vapor washed over the ground, Ifrit landed between the pair. It was less than gentle when it grabbed them and then jumped back towards Aerith, but they could see why a second later. That was when the gas made contact with the stray flames still lingering from where her Fire 3 spell had been reflected and ignited.

Aerith raised a Shield spell in time, encompassing them all in a shell of crystalized light as a massive explosion washed around it. Then she turned to her companions. Multitasking, while maintaining the costly spell and the spawns bombarded it with their respective long-distance attacks, put an immense strain on Aerith's mind, but she had to heal them now.

First, she laid a hand on the appendage still wrapped around Yuffie's neck and sent her magic into it, killing it and allowing to Yuffie breathe freely once again. Then she spread a Cure 3 among the group with the All Materia, to restore their bodies into fighting shape, before refocusing on keeping the Shield spell up.

"How's everyone feeling?" Tifa asked.

Nanaki let a low growl slip out of his mouth as he watched the purplish spawn take a moment to stop firing its Blue Light to renew the Reflect spell as the greyish one spewed more Gas. "They're working in tandem now. With that spell up, we can't use magic."

"I doubt it could withstand our most powerful attacks, but our usual magics would ignite the gas," Vincent said, his focus on the wreckage that Hojo had been launched into. It had started to shift as he began working his way out of it.

"That gas will hurt and slow you down if it makes contact with you," Aerith pointed out. "That will leave you vulnerable to their long-distance attacks."

"Then we need to disperse it…" Tifa brought her hand to her chin in thought for a pause as her mind worked overtime to process the information. She'd faced off against both of the spawns in their original state, so she tried to recall everything she knew and what they were capable of. Then it clicked as a strategy came to mind and she looked down to her Summoning Materia. "Red, does your Enemy Skill Materia have a water spell?"

He nodded. "It gained the same one the purple abomination used moments ago during our last encounter. Considering that it could heal itself from the water around it, I didn't use it."

"Now's the time then. Make it as strong as you can to disperse the gas. That should create enough of an opening to launch an attack."

Vincent volunteered for that part. "I should be able to control myself well enough to launch a Beast Flare in my transformed state. If it hits the ground before the curtain, the detonation should be strong enough to break through it. But they'll still bombard us."

In response, Mog's voice reached Aerith's ears through the Summoning Materia. "Mog says he can stop one of them. Can someone else handle the other?"

 _"I'll take… the purple one …"_ Yuffie said between breaths, staring at her weapon that was on the ground behind the pair of Jenova spawns. _"Trust… me…"_

"Alright then." Tifa turned to Aerith. "Drop the barrier and we'll act in three… two… one… Now!"

Aerith dropped the Shield spell and many things happened. She raised her staff to summon Mog, and the Moogle Rider appeared over the head of the greyish one, atop of a very large chocobo. It fell down upon the spawn and clung with its feet, digging into its head and pulling it about.

Yuffie extended her hand and gestured towards the purplish one's head. Whatever magic made Oritsuru so strong and allowed it to act as a boomerang responded as if she'd just thrown it. It shot off the ground, followed her hand-motions to tear out a bloody gouge before the spawn could fire its Blue Light, and then returned to her hand.

Nanaki bellowed deeply as he tapped into the Enemy Skill Materia and called for the Aqualung spell. Dozens of spheres of water appeared over the battlefield. They swelled in size until they ruptured into great volumes of liquid that fell over the gas and washed it away.

Vincent roared, his voice deepening as the light of the Limit Break briefly flared before sinking inwards into his body and starting to warp it. Fleshed burned away and bones darkened before tenebrous threads emerged from the within and replaced everything lost, bringing forth the Galian Beast. His molten gold eyes fixed themselves onto the pair of abominations brought forth by Hojo and bellowed out spheres that matched the tone of his eyes.

They rocketed forward before slamming into the ground, whereupon they detonated in a chain. Those explosions ripped apart the Reflect spell, at the same time swallowing the abominations. The inhuman heat seared their alien flesh and left them shrieking as they writhed in agony.

Last, Tifa laid a hand on her Summoning Materia and called out, "Finish them off, Shiva!"

The Glacian Summoning's regal appearance brought forth a flurry of white flakes, ice crystals, and raging winds. The cold beauty wasted no time in fulfilling the wish asked of her, drawing deep from her magic and calling forth a glacial blizzard to blanket the battlefield. Invasive ice rolled in, sparing only the mortals as it covered every surface around them and climbed up the Jenova spawns to lock them into crystal-like coffins of ice.

Then she snapped her fingers. The coffins compressed into themselves with a loud snap before shattering into ice fragments so tiny that light danced over them, glittering. Diamond dust fated to melt away as the summoning dissipated.

Aerith let out a deep sigh, her breath emerging in a puff of white mist from the lowered temperature. They had gotten rid of the monsters that Hojo had brought to defend himself, but now there was still him to deal with. He was half-frozen himself, locked up to the neck in a block of ice by Shiva.

"It's over," Aerith said softly as she walked towards the man, her companions following after her and their footfalls crunching the ice beneath them that still covered the ground. She could feel where the Protomateria was located within him, no doubt making it easier to use to control Omega and join with it. It would have to be pried out. "Your ambitions will end here before you swallow the world in your lust for knowledge."

In turn, Hojo had only one thing to say. _"…Nero."_

No sooner than that name left his mouth did stygian darkness bubble up out from the ground around them. A darkness so deep that there wasn't a trace of light to be found. It ensnared everything around it, including Aerith and her companions, and swallowed their feet.

Then the screaming started.

Not just screams of surprise from the group, but from the darkness itself. Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of voices filled Aerith's ears with horrible words. Things that left her unable to contain her voice as they wormed into her skull and violated her mind.

 _"All of you have been annoyingly persistent in your meddling,"_ Hojo said as the darkness slipped into the cracks of the ice and expanded to break it apart, freeing him. _"It would have been foolish of me not to take into account your inference with my plans. Or rather, I planned this with every possible contingency after our last encounter."_

Aerith could barely make out his words as her gift as a Cetra was being turned against her. It was crippling her as they overwhelmed her with all of their sin and regrets, all of it pouring into her mind at once. The abrupt tidal wave of misery made her fall onto her knees and try to cover her ears to silence them.

"Aerith!" Tifa struggled to get over to her, but the tenebrous mire locked her into place and refused to let go. Even with her strength, she couldn't break free "Ngh! What is this?"

"It-it feels like its eating me!" Yuffie shouted as she tried to pull herself free to no avail.

That was when a man emerged from it, thin and tall with messy black hair. From him the darkness billowed out, bleeding from his body in a rolling wave as natural as breathing. He said nothing as he lingered there, arms limp by his side.

 _"This child was the result of experimentation based off Grigoire Valentine's report on stagnant mako,"_ Hojo explained, looking at Vincent. _"After Lucrecia implanted Chaos with you and Sephiroth's birth, it was decided there may be some merit in its use and so experimentation was done in conjunction with my work. Of all the fetuses injected with it, he was the only success and was born with a connection to it."_

Aerith forced her head upwards as she continued to sink into the darkness, to look into the man's eyes. They were strangely lifeless, and she could feel the connection to Jenova. His consciousness had been taken from him, turning him into no more than a puppet.

Hojo then raised his arm and the darkness rolling off Nero intensified to form a wave, meant to drown the group as a whole into the darkness. _"Terra corrupt will free Chaos from its current host and I'll use the Protomateria to place it within him. Between the Jenova cells within his body and the Protomateria, Chaos and Omega will yield to me."_

Aerith reached for her staff. She fought with all the mental strength she could muster to gather her concentration for a final spell as the darkness began to fall. But, in the end, she couldn't stop its descent.

The darkness came crashing down on them and snuffed out all light….


	72. Chapter 72

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Reaper2908: lol**

 **Enjoy!**

Crimson's lungs were burning as she ran down a walkway nestled between two walls on the interior of the reactor, lined with pipes and railing as it ascended and descended in winding patterns. Her group had made it into the reactor and were heading into the center of it, chasing after the monster that Heidegger had become. However, they were still being intercepted by the few remaining Deepground Troopers still alive, taking up time _they did not have_. So she had opted to take a different approach while the others dealt with the distractions, based on what both Reeve and Shelke knew about the construction of the reactor rather than going through the various chambers and corridors to get there via the normal route.

Sense was active at the moment, and her mind was processing data as it came in from every angle with a familiar efficiency. The sound of footfalls different from her own and the hollow thump of metal being jumped on were enough for her to peg the ambush waiting for her just in time. She came to a stop and behind a metal pipe larger than her, meant for funneling Mako, as a hail of gunfire sailed through the air and clattered against the top while showering sparks down over her head.

"How far until I get there?" she asked into the earpiece, over the gunfire, while she attached the wire to her Rekka and did the calculations in her head. Since she lacked her preferred offensive materia, given to Cloud for his own fight, she had to rely more precision than power.

 _'You should be able to see the core of the reactor just past the door ahead of you,'_ Shelke said through the earpiece. _'Heidegger is currently crossing the walkway, accessible through a lower corridor. You have less than a minute by my estimation.'_

"Got it!" She flung the shuriken around the corner at an angle, so that it bounced off the wall and then wedged itself into the barrel of the gun. A loud bang and scream followed as it backfired, knocking the Deepground Trooper off his perch and down over the edge of the railing and pipes. Given how high up they were, it removed him from the equation.

Crimson ran ahead, reeling her Rekka back into her hands as she jumped over a dip in the walkway to land on the other side and go through the sliding door. That led her into a smaller corridor with another door in front of her. She stepped through that one and instantly found herself exactly where she wanted to be.

Space had opened up to where she could see the stone ceiling of Deepground above her, the deep darkness of its shadows kept at bay by the green-tinged phosphorescent light stemming from the Mako resting at the bottom of the pit. Walkways zigzagged at different intervals in the sky, with only a single one resting relatively closer to the Mako pool below and connecting to the long structure that was in the center of the reactor—the core.

She spotted Heidegger below, carrying the Materia Bomb in his hands as he moved along the walkway. He was midway there and the bomb hadn't been placed or armed yet. She'd made it in time. "I've got eyes on him. Moving to take him out now."

Taking in the distance between her, him, and the closest aerial walkway further ahead, Crimson checked to make sure that the Long Distance Materia was attached to her Rekka. Then she readied to throw it, intending on swooping down to intercept the target. That was when a blur burst from below, just over the edge of the railing, and took a swipe at her head from the left side.

Sharp and jagged talons that would have beheaded her if she hadn't taken a step back in time clenched in frustration at the near-miss. Orange pinions flared open and an inhuman shriek rattled her ears as the winged monster, a gargoyle, tried again to take her head from her shoulders. This time Crimson was ready as she used her Rekka like a blade, first to sever the claw at the wrist and then to cut horizontally across its head. But the cut was too shallow, as it had pulled back with the loss of one limb to a relatively safer distance, and instead opted to let loose a supersonic bellow that assailed her ears.

 **"Ahhhhhh!"** Crimson felt as though her body was being shaken apart by the deafening shriek, leaving her to fall flat on the metal walkway that threatened to be torn apart by the sonic waves, as the earpiece was jostled free and went over the edge, into the pool of Mako below. She gritted her teeth as the attack ended and then noticed there were more of the monsters buzzing around in the air, roused by the cry just now.

 _There's no time to deal with them individually. Not when Heidegger is close to getting to the core._ She focused on the Summoning that dwelled within her bangle. **"Clear the air, Ramuh!"**

A jolt ran through her mind as the Elder Justiciar of Lightning appeared with the rumble of thunder, staff held out to stand against the flying horde. With a bone-shaking _crack_ , sharp tendrils of lighting spat out of his staff and into the sky, branching out and spearing through the winged horde that darted through the air. Bright light and the scent of ozone assailed her senses as Crimson got back up to her feet and left the extermination of the aerial menace to Ramuh while she looked down again to see that Heidegger was almost across the walkway.

With no more time to waste, she leapt off the platform she was on while using Sense to plot out her path. Then she flung her Rekka towards the walkway in the air between them. The oversized shuriken caught it, the blade sawing into it from below and then embedding the points on the top-end as the wire attached went taut under her weight.

Blood pounding in her ear and wind rushing against her face, Crimson swung towards the entrance of the structure serving as the core. Legs chambered, she withstood the impact against the wall and then kicked off of it as she loosened the wire, freeing herself enough to land in front of Heidegger. Blocking him— _it_ off from the exit as the charred corpses of the remaining gargoyles fell into the pool of Mako below and Ramuh dissipated, she took a quick glance at what Heidegger had become since the last time she'd seen him alive.

His body was still whole, minus the missing arm. That was replaced by a sinuous appendage that branched into three points, coiled around the Huge Materia and device it was strapped into. The texture was the same alien composition that she'd come to expect from Jenova after the last few encounters with its spawn.

His eyes were glassy and he showed no real alertness or anger at her presence. That was a strong contrast to when he tried to kill them in Costa del Sol, his fury and rage palpable to the extent that it laced his voice while strapped into his war machine. Without a doubt, there was nothing left of the man who she'd loathed. It was just a body that was being moved around under an alien will.

With a sharp flick of her wrist, her Rekka dislodged itself and slipped through the initial opening it made to fall into her raised grasp. Crimson then chambered her arm and threw it forward with as much calculated precision as she could to avoid hitting the bomb. The flying weapon came to an abrupt stop as the point of her shuriken punctured the skull and jerked the head back, leaving the body to collapse.

Crimson then ran over and pulled the Materia Bomb free of the slack tendrils that had gone limp. It hadn't been armed yet, so all she had to do was disconnect it properly and they'd have accomplished their mission. She'd be able to go help Cloud and Aerith.

 _Damn it, if only I hadn't lost my earpiece I could at least check on them._ She silently cursed her own carelessness, but there was nothing to be done right now. Cid, Reeve's proxy doll, and Barret would hopefully be there soon and she'd be able to use one of theirs to get an update on the situation with them.

 _…twitch…_

Her attention snapped to the corpse when she caught the slight twitch in the appendage, an instant before the three tips flailed to life and tried to grab her. She barely managed to jump backwards in time, pulling her arm with the wire attached to her Rekka and returning it to her hand. There she held it at the ready as the corpse began to move again.

As the Jenova cells seized the dead flesh and no longer saw fit to keep its previous form, it warped and shaped under the alien influence into a more suitable form for killing. It didn't rise on two legs. Rather, it melted into a viscous puddle before what was the upper-half of it sprung forward and began to rise above her.

The bones that would form his ribcage opened up, blooming to display the writhing innards as they quivered and then melted into a slurry that oozed and added to the mass forming the thick base beneath the sinuous skin. That base was connected to the upper-half by a spindly section of flesh, consisting of his lower jaw that fell close to where the chest would be, and one eye was sucked inside of the skull as the other was exposed by the lengthening of the face as it stretched along with the head.

Even with all she had seen to date, a stomach churning sense of revulsion washed over Crimson as it looked down at her comparatively slender body, dwarfed by three times at a minimum. She took a step back as a second appendage emerged from the center mass opposite the first, replacing the other arm with what looked to be a trident, with the center blade coming to a point. The moment the sound of her footfall rang out on the metal passage, it was like a starting pistol that signaled for the monster to thrust the pointed tip of its offensive arm at her.

Crimson barely managed to step out of the way fast enough to dodge the attempt to run her through, the blade stabbing through the metal where she had been standing while shaking the rest from the force of the impact. She tried to slice into the fleshy spear and managed to draw blood, but with one hand it was too shallow. Then the second arm came around, the three flailing tendrils each coming for her, and it forced her jump backwards again.

However, it had learned. One of the tendrils stretched out and snagged her foot the moment she touched down before pulling her leg from under her. She fell backwards and the back of her head slammed into the metal floor, causing her mind to blank for a split-second.

Pain rolled through her skull. It wasn't cracked, but the dizziness and headache were bad enough that she suspected she'd been concussed. Either way, she was in no position to dodge as Helletic abomination lined up for the killing thrust. With a wet shriek, the abomination's right arm speared forward to punch through her body—

 **"Now's not the time to be lying down!"**

—and was repelled in the span of a breath as a blur landed in front of her and swung its weapon around. It didn't repel the attack, but was angled to deflect it off to the side as well-honed arms strained to keep it from moving further.

" _Ngh_ …He looks as rotten on the outside… _nnn_ … as he'd been on the inside now!" Cid gritted his teeth, chomping down on the cigarette in the corner of his mouth as he glared up at what remained of Heidegger. He then slid his foot back and spun with his hips before slashing the edge of the Scimitar spear along the upper arm, just above the neck of the trident.

The slash wasn't enough to cut the limb off entirely, but the roar of pain and alien ichor that cascaded down gave the impression it had been enough to get in some damage. The abomination pulled back, clearly enraged as it raised its other arm around to crush him. Automatic gunfire and an avian shriek rang out before it could, shells raining from above and showering the walkway with a metallic ringing.

Phoenix descended, carrying Barret with Cait Sith riding on the larger man's shoulder. With the barrel of his gun-arm spinning, a flurry of orange streaks flew towards the monster's head and caused it to bring its tentacle arm around to defend. It then diverted its other arm towards cutting down the Summoning and Gunman.

The abomination distracted, Cid shifted his spear to beneath his arm before he turned to Crimson. "Come on! Up and at 'em!"

"Right…" She shifted the Materia Bomb off her chest and forced herself to sit up as Cait Sith landed with a flop on the walkway behind her. Almost immediately a sense of vertigo overwhelmed her. Definitely a concussion. "My head…"

"Leave it to me," Cait Sith said as the doll stood upright before jumping up to her shoulder and laying a hand on her head. The next second, a sense of relief flooded her pounding skull and soothed the dizziness that had overtaken her. A Heal spell courtesy of the materia in its fluffy body.

Her mind refreshed, it was just in time as the abomination gave up on defending itself for an all-out assault. Between the tendrils and trident, Phoenix was forced to move rapidly enough that Barret was unable to keep firing as the tentacles stretched out to ensnare them. However, the Summoning, though agile as it was, simply couldn't effectively get away with its payload.

Eventually, Phoenix got a wing slashed by the pointed limb and lost its speed advantage. It barely managed to toss the Gunman onto the walkway before it was ensnared by the sinuous appendages. Its death wail as it was brutally ripped apart from them all pulling in different directions was disheartening and enraging at the same.

"Bastard!" Cid spat out his cigarette as he took up a stance with his spear. "Come on! The sooner we kill the ugly thing, the sooner we get outta here!"

"Don't hafta tell me twice." Barret said as he took aim. "I've been meanin' to kill this bastard for a long time!"

 **[-oOo-]**

The darkness was abysmal—a seemingly infinite sea that was distorted and undulating, a swirling mass of deathly howls and wails that reached the ears of not only Vincent, but everyone in their group. They were afloat in the darkness with no light, aside from the crystalized sphere that contained and isolated them from the outside, and no escape. They could only watch as dark ghost lights flittered about, a tail following behind them as they swam against the exterior of the barrier like piranha in aquarium—waiting to feed.

 _"Ah…"_ A soft cry slipped out of Aerith's mouth. She was holding her ears, torn between maintaining her focus and the countless voices assailing her ears beneath their hearing range. Her gift had become a curse.

"Hold it together," Tifa told Aerith, kneeling and gently grasping her by the shoulders.

 _"They won't stop,"_ Aerith whispered. _"They won't stop saying things. Horrible things. Things so horrible they make me sick. I can feel them crawling on my skin even now."_

"Can't you do that teleporting thing?" Yuffie asked, her voice tinged with fear.

Aerith only shook her head. "If I do that here, then it'll absorb all of us. I don't even know where we are, so I wouldn't be able to direct it anyway."

 _CRACK._

The sound of glass cracking under pressure turned their attention towards the barrier. Fissures had begun appearing in the crystalized light, darkness weighing down on it with every intention of crushing it the longer they lingered within it. Whether it was by time, Aerith losing her focus, or running out of magic, it looked like the end result would be the same.

Nanaki grew tense, head low and ready to pounce as his eyes chased the fleeting wisps. Paranoid. A contrast to the normally composed, if fearsome warrior.

Yuffie huddled over, eyes screwed shut. The normally energetic, relentless behavior you'd associate with her was missing. Despair was swallowing her whole, leaving her curled up like a child who sought to escape the monsters lurking in the dark by closing her eyes and pretending they weren't there.

Even Tifa had an air of defeat around her, despite her best efforts to keep Aerith's spirit up. Delaying the inevitable. There was no hope if Aerith couldn't get them out of there, meaning that Hojo would prevail in the end and her vengeance would go unanswered.

The only one who wasn't affected was Vincent. This unsettling darkness, the wails that contained all of the negatives of humanity, all of their sins and regrets and evils, was nothing but noise to Vincent. It was as Lucrecia's notes and Hojo had mentioned—the essence of Chaos itself, the beast within him, stemmed from this place and was born of this darkness itself…

No. Even without Chaos, the darkness born of mankind was something he was very familiar with. The depression, the guilt, the burden of it weighing you down like this all-consuming darkness that threatened to swallow them—they were all things he'd felt as he spent decades sleeping away, drowning in his own guilt. Under normal circumstances, he would welcome this place as a second coffin—an eternal punishment he deserved for his failings.

 _I just want to dream in peace without hurting anyone else._

 _"Lucrecia,"_ he muttered to himself as he recalled her wish and his promise to grant it. If Hojo succeeded, then she wouldn't be able to dream in peace. Unable to die and connected to Jenova, she would be all alone on a dead world and forced to live with the burden of her knowledge and family being responsible. He couldn't let her suffer for eternity believing that.

More than that, his companions didn't deserve to die in a place like this. They all had plans—futures waiting for them. He wouldn't let the man responsible for what happened to Lucrecia and himself ruin anymore futures—not theirs or the Planet itself.

Vincent moved over to edge of the barrier, extending his hand towards the darkness as the fissures continued to stretch and dark vapor began to seep in. To bend the darkness in a way that could help them was something he didn't know. However, Lucrecia's notes and housing Chaos meant that he could do it—and he had belief in her words more than just about anything else.

"There's no point in lingering h **ere while the others are fighting** ," he declared to his allies, himself, and to the darkness itself as his form and voice shifted. In the distance, the darkness began to swirl and a pinprick of light began to grow. **"Let's go."'**

 **[-oOo-]**

The horrendous, ear-splitting scraping of metal on metal drowned out any other sound in Cloud's ears. Even the pounding of his heart and his own strained groan as the shock of the last impact shook the bones in his arms and left them with a lingering sense of pain. Yet, there was no time to dwell on it as the next attack came for him again.

 **"RRRRRRAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!"** A roar bellowed as Arch Azul attacked. The man was now a bestial mass of muscle and metal, the weight of which he threw into sweeping his right claw out to maim the swordsman. The paw was easily taller than he was, spread out so that the nails could rip him apart.

Cloud braced the Buster Sword with both hands to intercept it. The thick metal deflected the nails from ripping into his flesh with a heavy impact. Sparks flew and bones rattled again, leaving him straining to keep his arms upright as the ache of his muscles being pitted against the brute strength of the behemoth grew intense to the point of burning. _"Nghh…"_

His body, experimented on and shaped into one of the most lethal living weapons on the Planet, was being strained by the sheer might of the Cerulean Tsviet. He would be overwhelmed the longer the battle went on, so he had to press the attack. That was why, as another swipe came for him from the other arm, Cloud didn't block it.

The blow that could have sent a tank airborne with the same ease of a beach-ball only swept through empty space as Cloud avoided it by bounding off the ground with his sword ready to come down. Seeing that he wouldn't get his arm back in time before a blow could crash down on his head, Azul angled it so that he could gore him with his horns. Cloud was forced to intercept it and there was a moment of resistance as they clashed. Then Cloud triggered a Quake spell through his sword to give it an extra punch and the two spear-like horns shattered at the narrowed point, causing Azul's head to buckle as they clattered onto the ground.

 **"HAHAHA!"** Rather than be angered, a rapturous laugh belted out of the Tsviet's mouth as he swung the same arm backwards, claws tightened into a fist to knock Cloud aside. **"I WILL RELISH THIS FOR A TIME TO COME!"**

The world shook for Cloud as the impact connected, threatening to smash his ribcage to pieces. It held but he lost his ability to breathe as his lungs froze and his consciousness flickered in a moment of weightlessness. Then, all at once, they returned as he slammed into the rubble-strewn ground in the distance with a loud _thud_.

Pain bled into every inch of his body with every ragged breath as he tried to get his arms and legs under him. But he barely made it onto his knees before blood forced itself from between his lips and filled his mouth with its coppery taste. He used the Buster Sword, which miraculously was still in his grasp, to prop himself up in time to see the Cerulean Tsviet in the distance.

Stones of energy hovered in the air around the metallic behemoth. They were launched with a roar, sending them streaking through the distance towards Cloud, who was barely on his feet. An attack meant to overwhelm him and tear him apart.

He gritted his teeth and tightened his grasp on the sword before using the Cover Materia. It moved his weapon and arms for him into a defensive position, the broad side of the blade as much of a shield as it could be against the bombardment that rained down. Blinding light, pounding force, and deafening roars assaulted Cloud's senses as they swallowed him up, until he once more found himself on the ground.

 _Have to… keep fighting…_ He repeated that mantra in his mind over and over as he tried to get up once again. But he couldn't this time. Just raising his head, blood streaming down from the corners of his mouth and the tears in his normally resilient flesh, took all the strength he had. It left him watching as the Azure Beast lumbered towards him while the world tilted back and forth, the edges of his vision darkening.

 **"And so it ends,"** Azul said, a quiet rumble in his voice as he approached with the intention of crushing the downed swordsman's skull to ensure the kill. A warrior's death by his account—decisive and personal.

The words barely reached Cloud's ears as his vision faded on the Restore Materia on his bangle. He needed to heal so that he could keep fighting. But his head was swimming, on the verge of unconsciousness, and he couldn't focus enough to trigger it.

 **"It was entertaining while it lasted."** Azul was in front of him now, massive fist raised with the intention of bringing it down on his skull. **"But, in the end, you were too weak to finish the job. Your ideals will now die with you. Such is the fate of the weak."**

Cloud's eyelids became unbearably heavy and his consciousness faded away as the death descended…


	73. Chapter 73

**Another chapter is here!**

 **Enjoy!**

Cloud's consciousness crumpled apart under the pain. He'd put everything he could into holding off Azul long enough for the others to accomplish their missions. Every second he was fighting the monster in human flesh was one more bought for the others to finish their tasks.

But he couldn't fight any longer. His body was _screaming_ in agony, all his senses awash in pain as the looming shadow of death hung over him now. He still had the ability to heal himself, but the pain drowned his thoughts to where he couldn't gather the concentration needed to trigger the Restore Materia in his possession. So there was nothing he could do as the steel claw descended to end his life…

And then a second shadow raced from behind Cloud and intercepted it with the grating of steel against steel.

The Cerulean Beast grunted as he tried to crush the interloper. But the man wouldn't bend knee to his strength. **"You...!"**

 _"Even if the morrow is barren of promises. Nothing shall forestall my return."_ A rather placid voice said, as though beginning an invocation. One that brought a flood of memories from Cloud's predecessor to the forefront of his mind. The surprise was enough to drown out the pain and give his consciousness purchase—if only for a moment.

Still, Cloud held fast to that moment of clarity to trigger the Cure 3 spell and felt relief wash over him as everything that was broken mended and the pain ebbed away entirely. He raised his head to see the metal claw was being held at bay by a large sword, its red blade matching the hue of the coat that adorned the auburn-haired man with Mako-shaded eyes.

And one black wing was extending from his left shoulder.

 _"To become the dew that quenches the lands."_ The blade's runic inscriptions blazed to life and a red aura began to run along the edge with every word the man quoted. _"To spare the sands, the seas, the skies. I offer thee this silent sacrifice!"_

The aura flared out all at once as he put effort into swinging the blade, breaking the deadlock. The Cerulean Beast's massive body was rebuked, sent reeling backwards through the air as though struck by a great force—mirroring how Cloud had been launched prior. Arch Azul plowed through a two-story building and a cloud of dust rose up in the wake of the impact.

Then again, was anything less expected of Genesis Rhapsodos?

He was a First-Class SOLDIER, friend and colleague to Angeal Hewley and Sephiroth until he deserted, orchestrating what would be known as the Genesis War among the ranks of Shinra in an effort to cure himself of degradation. He got his wish in the final battle with Zack in the Banora Underground, empowered by the Lifestream yet beaten, and they'd left him in the village before Zack rode off to his death.

"Why are you here?" Cloud asked as he rose to his feet, grasping the Buster Sword defensively. His mind was clear as far as thoughts go, but the mental fatigue of using spells was gnawing at the fringes. He had maybe three more in him as things stood—not nearly enough to fight a man of his caliber.

"Upon receiving the Gift of the Goddess by the Hero's hands, I was liberated from my role as the Prisoner." Genesis lowered his sword as the magic imbuing it faded and turned to Cloud. "Gift in hand, I made a vow to serve as the Goddess' Champion, and thus I have awoken to fulfill my new role."

Cloud... didn't have the patience or willingness to try and interpret his words, given the circumstances. "So, you're an ally?"

"Essentially." His eyes fell over the Buster Sword. "You've come a long way from being a mere infantryman, and you carry the legacies of my old friends. But if you let opposition of this caliber bring you to your knees, Sephiroth will be quite a challenge."

It was _unnerving_ for someone who'd been out of sight during all the commotion over the last few months to be so well-informed. "You know about him too?"

"I know that he moves even now, but I must attend to Omega's awakening first." Genesis turned away as a rumble reached their ears from the collapsed rubble. The metallic behemoth was forcing himself out. "You've got your second wind. Can you handle this from here?"

Cloud froze at the underlying meaning of that question: _Do you need me to fight your battles for you?_

Until now, the people who knew Zack had been supportive of his efforts to succeed Zack's legacy with the Buster Sword, even as he carved out an identity for himself. But all of those people weren't his peers. Aerith was his lover. Crimson was his supporter. Kunsel was his friend.

They weren't his equal in terms of strength. This man was for all intents and purposes—as a swordsman and SOLDIER. That was why the question carried a lot of weight to it. Asking for Genesis to deal with a battle-weary Azul at this point would be the equivalent of saying that he couldn't handle it on his own.

But… wasn't that okay? He and the others fought as a group because it made overcoming the challenges in front of them easier. That was why they traveled together and faced the odds together… yet, here he was alone. He had broken away from the others to deal with the Tsviet while the others dealt with Hojo and Heidegger.

And that wasn't the wrong decision. While Azul was definitely a threat, he wasn't one that could end the world on his own. By keeping him here, Cloud had been able keep him from interfering with the more important battles. So, if Genesis could finish him off, then why did it bother Cloud so much?

...Because time wasn't the only thing on the line here. His fight with Azul hadn't been just a clash of strength to buy time, but a battle of ideals as they exchanged blows. Azul believed in 'might makes right', with the weak left to be crushed underfoot. Cloud believed that it was the duty of the strong to defend the weak, so they could pursue their own goals of their own accord.

He'd fallen, but he hadn't died. That meant that his ideals, and those passed on by Zack and his master, were still valid if he could keep fighting. Letting someone else fight in his place when he was still capable was no different here than dying—in spirit, if not in body. And the time Genesis spent, however short, fighting his battles for him kept the man away from the greater threat.

"The others in the Reactor are dealing with Heidegger and the Materia Bomb that's supposed to trigger Omega's awakening," Cloud said. "My earpiece was destroyed in the battle, so I haven't been able to hear from them. If you're really on our side, make sure they're safe and I'll catch up after I'm done here."

The response netted a small smile as his auburn hair shifted with a nod of his head, so Cloud assumed that was what he wanted to hear. Then he turned his attention to the Mako Reactor in the distance and his black wing flared outwards. With a single flap of it, dark feathers were scattered as Genesis took flight without another word.

 **"Where do you think you're going?"** snarled the metallic behemoth as he finished freeing himself. Stones of energy began to form around him in preparation to shoot Genesis down as he passed overhead, his back unguarded.

Cloud raised his hand and felt electricity coursing through his mind as a powerful jolt ran through it. Burning one of the spells he could still cast, he sent out a blistering bolt of lightning that struck the Tsviet before he could let loose his own attack. The Cerulean Beast shrieked loudly as the current danced over his scales and sparks cascaded from his frame, and with his concentration severed the energy-condensed stones prematurely shattered into pieces.

 _It's conductive._ That was the conclusion that Cloud came to after seeing the strongest reaction from the Tsviet since he'd transformed. The organic metal that composed him was conductive, a crippling weakness that could topple the metallic behemoth.

Tension threaded his body as the chance for victory was in his sight, resting at end of the distance stretched out between them. He could only use magic two more times before the mental fatigue set in. To guarantee a kill, he had to make sure it hit—and that meant closing the distance.

Arch Azul's murderous and bestial glare was fixed on him now, crystallized energy reformed to shoot him down as Cloud poured strength into his arms and legs. This was it. All or nothing. He exhaled with a shout and charged forward, devoting every last ounce of strength to killing the opponent in front of him as energy crystals were launched.

A burst of speed allowed Cloud to avoid the first volley of projectiles, leaving them to slam into the ground behind him. It was like a series of bombs going off, the force threatening to stagger him. He kept his footing and pressed on, even knowing he couldn't avoid the follow-up barrage this time.

 _Have to endure it!_ He gritted his teeth and swung the Buster Sword around with all his might before they could touch him. The blade swept through them, breaking them open and swallowing him in the blinding light and force. _Endure it!_

But this time he retained his consciousness through sheer force of will, even as it threatened to tear his body apart. A jolt to the mind burned another Cure 3 spell to repair the damage without slowing down. The distance now had shortened greatly with every stride of his legs.

The Cerulean Beast responded to his final gambit by materializing eight flying energy crystals this time. At this distance, there wouldn't be enough time to cut them down or dodge. The moment they were fired, they would completely blow Cloud away, and this time there would be no one to buy him another opening.

Even if he could endure it by some miracle, he'd have to use up his final spell to keep fighting. That would leave him open to another barrage that would definitely finish him off. That was his limit at the moment...

However, that was what the Limit Breaks existed for. To break through the limits standing between survival and death on the battlefield. Its light flared from within Cloud as he kept up his charge, the nebulous and unshapen form finally being solidified overhead into dense meteors—an imitation of the ultimate destructive magic to obliterate his foe.

 **"Rain Down!"** The flaming balls of molten rock flew forward at the command, just as the crystals were fired like rockets. The two opposing barrages met midway between them and the air itself _quaked_ under the resulting explosion, an ear-splitting cacophony and dust rising up to form an obscuring veil to even their superior senses.

Arch Azul didn't wait for it to clear before lashing out with his claws, pointed-tips sweeping through empty space to tear the swordsman apart. They swept away the dusty veil to reveal that Cloud wasn't there. He'd vanished…

No, his instincts told him otherwise. He forced his head upwards, already forming a final set of energy crystals to fire, and saw that Cloud had jumped and was now above him. Lightning crackled in his opened palm for an instant before a massive, blinding bolt descended from above to smite the metallic behemoth.

 **"RRRRRAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!"** The bestial shriek rang out as the lightning scorched and melted the metal, tendrils of electricity overriding his muscles and causing him to collapse as the half-formed crystals once more shattered.

The Buster Sword followed as Cloud descended, backed by gravity and the full-force of his muscles as he thrust the point down through the electrified scales. The metal crumpled beneath the assault and the blade ran through the Cerulean Beast. Straight through his heart.

Arch Azul reeled back on reflex, rising up on his hind-legs as he let out a death throe while throwing Cloud off of him. Then he began to shrink and wither, once more returning to the form of a man. On his knees, with the Buster Sword still wedged into his chest, he let out a wet cough that added to the blood pooling on the ground.

Cloud pulled himself up to his feet. His mind felt heavy, and there were no more spells left in him after that last one. Then, to his horror, Azul began to stand as well.

 _"A warrior… lives and dies… on the battlefield…"_ The Tsviet forced his hands up to the blade running through him and began push it out. The Buster Sword clattered to the ground, metal ringing out loudly as the blood now poured out freely to the dry earth. _"Remember that…"_

That said, he exhaled a final breath and then fell forward onto the ground. He didn't move again. So died the Cerulean Tsviet with a smile on his face, having lived and died in accordance to his own beliefs—that the strong prevailed and the weak were crushed.

Without a word, Cloud picked up his sword from the expanding pool of blood and slung it onto his back. Then he made his way towards the Reactor to join up with the others.

 **[-oOo-]**

 _It should have been done by now,_ Hojo thought to himself as he hovered in place. Terra corrupt should have finished consuming and assimilating the Ancient and Chaos' current host. _Something must be wrong, an unexpected factor I—_

He didn't get further with the thought before a portal of darkness opened up behind him. He turned towards it in time to see the warped form of Chaos emerge, with the Ancient and her companions following. Their eyes locked and Hojo knew that Vincent Valentine was in control—at least temporarily. Without the Protomateria his mind would buckle under Chaos eventually, so there was still a chance to put his plans back into motion.

Hojo exerted his control over Nero through the Jenova cells implanted to control his mind. The darkness billowed from Tsviet once more, intending to swallow them whole a second time. But Vincent acted before he could, extending his empty hand towards it, and the wave of darkness parted before it could touch them.

He then raised his other hand, firearm extended towards Nero, and pulled the trigger. A bullet round steeped with the dark energy of Chaos slammed into Nero with the force of a truck. The Sable Tsviet's flesh didn't break open under the force of the impact, but he rocketed past Hojo and into the ground.

The weapon was then turned towards Hojo, and the trigger was pulled a second time. Blinding pain overtook his evolved form as it buckled under the force of the round punching open a gaping hole in his chest. The momentum tore out the alien tissue, exposing the Protomateria that he'd integrated within him.

The wound would mend. It was already starting to close up and cover it once more. But Chaos' host took flight and raced to claim it before it could finish.

Hojo fought through the pain of the wound and directed his bladed-tail around to intercept. At the same time, he reoriented Nero to warp through the darkness, with the intention of getting the drop on him from behind. The pincer attack would at least wound or cripple Vincent, and with that lack of concentration from the pain Chaos would run wild again and he could move from there.

But, before the appendage could connect, the uncanny origami that the Wutai girl called a weapon circled around him like a boomerang. It severed the appendage with the ease of paper, leaving it to flail harmlessly out of the way.

And, as the darkness opened in the air behind Vincent and Nero displayed the full extent of his weaponry, a bestial roar sounded out. Cerulean stars flared into existence above Nero and then rained down as brilliant rays of light. The extra armaments were blown apart while the rays hammered the Sable Tsviet to the ground, where a sphere of ice slammed into him and froze half his body in a column of ice.

Both attacks thwarted, there was nothing stopping Vincent from his charge. Hojo tried to attack with his arm, sharpened to a point, as a final line of defense. But he was skewered from all angles by violet needles that robbed him of all movement, stilling the regeneration of his cells and leaving him helpless as Vincent finished closing the distance.

 **"GRRAAAHHH!"** Hojo could only shriek as the clawed hand pierced deep and then pulled the Protomateria free with a wet sound. The connection he had with it was severed as it was returned to the slot just over where Chaos' heart would be. Then he found himself staring down the barrel of the gun as Vincent gained height and pointed down towards him.

 _That is what contingency plans are for, I suppose,_ were his final thoughts before Vincent pulled the trigger and a beam of darkness obliterated his Jenova-laden body entirely.

 **[-oOo-]**

Crimson winced as an inhuman roar resounded while the abomination struck with its sinuous spear-arm, thrusting the point towards Cid in an effort to skewer him. The pilot twisted his body to avoid the killing thrust that punched through the platform and then stabbed his polearm's blade into it, pinning it into place as alien ichor ran from the resulting wound. The creature that was once Heidegger warbled in fury before lashing out the opposite set of tendrils, each one attempting to ensnare him before he could severe it entirely.

The former Turk sent her Rekka flying to intercept them, a whirlwind of steel that sawed through the still-writhing limbs with a precise throw and sent them over the side of the railing. Crimson then pulled on the wire so the oversized shuriken returned while chewing through the more of its body. It let loose a shrill cry before the remaining, wounded appendage jerked forward, upturning metal in a primal attempt to lash out. "Look out!"

Cid jumped backward in response to the warning, but it was too slow and left him sucking in a sharp breath as a flash of hot pain ran through his leg. Fresh blood ran from the gash in his pants, where the twisted metal managed to tear into his flesh. It left him falling to one knee as the weapon-arm came down for him a second time.

Barret covered him with a hail of gunfire. The bullets punched through its head and limbs to distract it while Cait Sith provided healing, soothing light swaddling the pilot's wounded leg and knitting the gash shut. It was just in time for Cid to escape as the abomination swept it's organic-weapon around in an arch, cleaving through the railing and shearing a deep gouge out of the passage.

The gun-man then shone with a furious light as Cid cleared the blast-zone and his rage reached its peak at the one who'd orchestrated the fall of the Plate. The power of the Limit Break gathered into his gun and concentrated, growing from a faint light into a blister fireball that swelled in size until it was launched forward.

The spiraling orb met with the abomination and bloomed into a roaring flame that forced Crimson to shield her eyes with her arm, lest the glare and gale of hot wind blind her. It died down as quickly as it came about though, and she lowered her arm to see that the abomination was a smoldering mess. Curdling smoke rose from where the flames had scorched the deepest, despite being poor fuel for the flames to consume.

 _It's not healing anymore._ The abomination had patched itself up constantly to this point, replacing any severed limbs or punctures that were made in its body by taking from its mass. Now though, too much of it was damaged or blown off. "We can finish it off now!"

"Let's go for the kill then!" Cid shouted, his own Limit Break's strength surging through him. As if acknowledging the threat that it presented, the abomination shrieked as it lunged forward in an attempt to intercept the pilot before he could get into range. However, Cid poured that strength into his legs as he twisted his weapon around and jumped into the air with all his might to avoid it.

That left it coming towards Crimson, whose Rekka warped under the influence of her Limit Break and took a demonic form once more that seethed blood-red energy. Putting all the strength she could muster into the throw, she flung it forward to meet the monster that was once Hojo. A miserable howl followed as the weapon burst through its body and turned its charge into a stumble. Crimson then pulled it back in by the wire as Cid descended.

All the power had gathered into his spear, concentrating to the point where it was radiating a brilliant cerulean light. Falling like a shooting star crashing to earth, the impact made the metal walkway shake and groan. The former Turk grabbed onto a section of railing for purchase as the energy dispersed into the form of a shockwave that scattered the remnants of the monster.

 _"Finally,"_ she said with a soft sigh, her legs threatening to collapse under her from the melting tension. But she forced herself to keep standing. There was still one more thing left to do before she could relax. She made her way over to the Materia Bomb, intending to finish the disarming process.

That was when the door to the core of the Reactor slid open. A man with a muscular build on display emerged, his upper body exposed and bare. His hair was spiky and white, and there were a pair of swords that looked akin to a cross between a Wutai-weapon and revolver strapped to his back.

 _Weiss the Immaculate?_ Crimson guessed from the information she had. He was supposed to be locked away, being too dangerous and difficult to control according to Shelke. So why was he free now?

She didn't get the chance to think on it too much when he turned towards the Materia Bomb and she realized he was planning on using it. Immediately, she flung her Rekka to cut him down before he could—

 **KIRIK!**

—and, in an instant, it was destroyed by one of the long blades. Her Rekka's pieces were scattered over the platform, ruined beyond repair. It was gone.

Crimson only had enough time to process that before the man practically blinked into existence in front of her. Not teleportation, but speed that was fast enough that Crimson could mistake it for that much. His left hand shot out and then she found herself struggling for air as he held her by the throat and lifted her in the air.

 _"Urk…ahh…"_ She tried to get free from his grasp, but it was like a vice had been clamped around her neck. And when she tried to chamber her legs and kick off his broad chest to get loose, it was like kicking solid stone. She couldn't get away!

"Let her go!" Cid shouted as he charged down the platform, spear ready to be thrust for a killing blow as Barret lined up a shot with Cait Sith standing there. The man spared them a glance as he pointed the sword towards them and pulled a trigger thrice.

The first shot took out Cid's leg, punching through his thigh and leaving him buckling under his own weight. He was sent crashing to the ground and left clenching it as the second blew apart Cait Sith's body from the neck up, leaving fluff scattered about. The third caught Barret in the abdomen and left him kneeling as he clutched the wound with his remaining hand.

 _Damn… it…_ Crimson felt her mind starting to leave her as her lungs burned for air. Her Rekka was gone and she couldn't force her way free on her own. So, putting her remaining concentration into the Gravity Materia that replaced her Thunder Materia, she triggered an intensified field of gravity that thrummed as it came down on them like a hammer to wrench herself free.

The former Turk hit the platform harder than she would have liked. It left her coughing as she struggled to regain her breath while he readied to pull the trigger, barrel pointed at her head. Then there was a flash of red faster that her eyes could keep up with again and sparks came into existence, forcing her to shield her eyes shut as a clash of steel rang out over her head.

Her first thought was that Cloud had finally caught up to them. But that hope turned to confusion when she opened her eyes again and saw the face of Genesis. He stood in front of her, his blade grating against the crossed pair of the white-haired Tsviet.

"You were supposed to have disappeared after they retrieved you from Banora," Weiss said.

"And I've returned to close the curtain on your ambitions once and for all—" He broke the sword-lock and then swung his weapon horizontally. It forced the Tsviet back towards the door. "—Professor Hojo."


End file.
